A Slayer in Shreveport
by krynny su
Summary: "I have your sister. If you want her back, alive, you'll have to come and get her. Meet you in Shreveport, Slayer?" Buffy/Eric!    **Story is now COMPLETE!**
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, True Blood or the Southern Vampire Mysteries, nor am I making any profit off of this story. Trust me, you'd know if I was. hahahahaha. They are owned by their respective owners.**

**Prologue**

He stood on the roof of the building, silently watching the young girl fight with a vampire in the street alley below.

She was very skillful with the way she fought.

He watched carefully as she leapt up, grabbed onto a fire escape ladder, swung herself around and kicked the vampire in the back, knocking him down. All with a few witty comments added in.

She was definitely creative.

More so than any other Slayer he had ever seen, not that he'd seen many. Maybe five or ten, total. It didn't really say much about him considering he was over a thousand years old. But then again, most vampires…well, most smart vampires that is…didn't go seeking out the Slayer.

Eric Northman was no exception.

Except for in this instance.

The Slayer was in his territory. Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was Sheriff of Area number Five.

His Queen, Sophie-Anne, had informed him of her arrival and ordered him to do everything in his power to stop her from doing whatever it was that she was planning and to bring her to her at once.

Eric by far wasn't an idiot. He knew how to schmooze up his Queen and promise the world to her. He also knew that there was a pretty high chance that Sophie-Anne was completely full of it.

Still, he was interested by her sudden appearance in his city and his Queen's sudden interest in her. There was no Hell-mouth here and as far as he knew the one in Sunnydale was still open. So why was the Slayer here and not protecting her Hell-mouth?

Eric had no idea but he did indeed plan on finding out.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N:**

Hello! Welcome to the first official chapter!

I just wanted to say that some of the time-lines may be a little crossed. For example, I'm setting this at early season six of Buffy-really early season six. She's only been back for a few weeks. Dawnie's Halloween mischief and the musical have not happened yet, nor does anybody know about Xander and Anya being engaged.

True Blood wise, this is set way before season one of the television show. It's going to lean more on the TV show than on the books simply because I have not read them yet =)

The Great Revelation has happened. Sookie is not going to be involved in this story, that I know of right now anyway. A lot of the time-line issues will probably come in through the True Blood aspect.

Of course, all Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood characters belong to Charlaine Harris/Alan Ball and all Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon. Any other original characters belong to yours truly. :]

Oh, and I'm attempting at writing this in third person. I'm used to writing first person, so I'm sorry if I'm terrible at it. hahaha. Thank you for reading and please _kindly_review!

* * *

Chapter One

Buffy was pissed.

Beyond, pissed actually.

Livid. Absolutely livid.

Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya had only resurrected her a few weeks ago and Dawn was already getting kidnapped.

As if she didn't already have enough things to contend with besides flying sixteen hundred miles away from her home to a random town in Louisiana, where her sister was supposedly being held at some dumb vampire bar by some dumb vampire Sheriff.

Buffy had come back to a great many changes, namely The Great Revelation.

Apparently, for some dumb reason that Buffy couldn't possibly understand, all the vampires decided to come out of hiding-literally. It had been the first thing that she had learned.

They, her friends, didn't even have the decency to wait and let her settle in. She remembered it just as well as she remembered digging herself out of her grave. Dawn had helped her get cleaned up and had helped her change out of that dreadful, hideous black dress. She remembered all of her friends rushing in and attacking her with questions. She remembered Dawn screaming at them to stop and to let her breathe.

It was silent for a moment or two when Buffy decided that she needed to sleep. To get away from everything. That's when they decided to come out with it. Buffy was half-way up the stairs when she heard Xander behind her.

"Buffy, I know you must have had a long night and there's nothing you want more than to sleep but there's some things you need to know. I don't think it can wait."

"Xander," Tara started. "Now isn't the time. It can wait until morning."

"The vampires came out of the closet. Probably in some cases literally. They are calling it 'The Great Revelation.' They make a synthetic blood drink called 'Tru Blood'. It's supposedly supposed to stop the vampires from killing people and make them less scary or something. As in, they are supposed to drink that and not kill people. Yeah, right. Two major sides came out. The side that hates vampires and thinks that they are an abomination and The American Vampire League, protecting the status of vampires as a whole, blah blah blah. I think it's stupid." Anya blurted out. "No offense, Spike." she added.

Buffy responded with a small, delicate "Oh" and finished walking up the stairs.

Fast forward a few weeks and here she was in the middle of Shreveport, Louisiana. On her way to Fangtasia, where her sister was supposedly being held and fighting off several vampires in the process. Apparently, they all hadn't taken to the Tru Blood drink.

She stood in the middle of the alley way, thinking over her options. She could very well keep going towards Fangtasia. It wasn't too late into the night. She definitely had plenty of time. However, she was a little bit concerned about Xander and Anya back at the hotel.

Xander, and in turn, Anya, had insisted on coming with her, feeling that it was their fault that Dawn had been taken. Even if Dawn did accidentally invite the vampires that had taken her, into the house. Again.

Buffy had wanted to go alone. She worked better alone. She didn't have to tell them how grateful she was that they had saved her from that horrible hell dimension. She didn't have to lie to their faces. The only one that knew the truth was Spike and he would never tell. She knew that. She knew that he would keep her secret safe as long as she would. Even if that meant forever.

Yet, Xander had managed to win Buffy over enough with his guilt for her to let Anya and him tag along.

Buffy thought it over for another moment before deciding to just keep going on to Fangtasia. Xander and Anya probably wanted the alone time, anyway.

She tucked her trusty stake back into the interior pocket inside of her coat and turned out of the alley way. She continued down the streets of the city for a bit until she saw what appeared to be her destination.

The parking lot was dirt and gravel. The building was big, but Buffy had seen bigger when she lived in Los Angeles. It was a dirty gray-ish color and there was a red canopy-like entrance way The barred windows had red, lit up letters that spelled out 'Fangtasia'.

There was a bit of a line, but not a terribly long one. About ten, maybe twenty people, and vampires, were waiting to get in. Buffy noted that the woman checking ids was also a vampire, as well as the bouncer standing on her other side.

"Well, here goes nothing." Buffy thought.

She walked up and stood at the back of the line. The time passed quickly and before she knew it, she was standing in front of the vampire woman. She was wearing a tight, jet black corset dress that had a thick, blood red ribbon that tied around her neck. She wore matching jet black stockings and over-the-knee boots, that matched the red ribbon. Her blonde, shoulder length hair was tousled into waves.

She looked down curiously at Buffy.

"Well well, what a lovely surprise. What can I do for you?" the woman drawled out.

"You know who I am?" Buffy asked, shocked.

"Of course I do. Every one of our kind knows you, Slayer."

"You'd be surprised." Buffy muttered.

"Listen doll face, I'm on the clock, what do you want?"

"I want to see the owner of this bar."

She looked even more curiously at Buffy.

"What for?"

"I was told that he has something of mine." Buffy responded, vaguely.

She looked Buffy up and down.

"You're not dressed even remotely properly and I'm pretty sure you're underage to be entering the bar."

Buffy felt her temper start to flare. "I don't care about my clothes and I'm well aware of my age. I'm not here to get drunk. I'm here to see the owner of this bar." she said through clenched teeth.

The woman vampire thought deep for a moment.

"My name is Pam. If you'll follow me, I'll bring you in. I wouldn't want anything happening to.."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You're worried about my safety?"

"Has anyone ever told you that it's impolite to cut someone off mid-sentence? No, I'm not at all concerned for your safety. I'm concerned that a bunch of dumb, ego-centric vampires will kill the Slayer in the middle of a club that I co-own and we'll end up under investigation."

Pam led Buffy inside and sat her at the bar.

"Sit tight, cupcake. I'd advise you to keep to yourself." Pam said to Buffy. She looked over at the bartender that came over to Buffy as she sat down. "Strictly soda for this one. She's underage." Pam added.

Buffy declined the beverage and sat quietly at the bar. Her eyes wandered throughout the dark place until she saw Pam. She was standing on a small stage, whispering into the ear of a man. The man had short, blonde hair and was sitting in a very throne like chair. From what Buffy could see in the dimly lit bar, he was wearing a light gray suit with a black, button up shirt underneath. The shirt was only buttoned up partially. He had left the top three buttons undone.

Buffy's thoughts were semi-interrupted as she felt someone sit down next to her. She tried to keep her sights set on Pam and the man, but her Slayer senses kicked into high drive, alerting her to possible danger.

"You sure don't look like you fit in here."

Buffy slowly turned to face the man sitting next to her. He had choppy black hair that fell over the side of his face, dark eyes and his tight, black clothes screamed 'Goth'. She was very aware that he was a vampire but she wasn't stupid enough to take him on in the middle of the club, especially not if Dawn was being held here somewhere.

"Yeah, and you look like you do." Buffy responded, quietly

The man laughed. "My name is Victor. What's yours? Allow me to buy you a drink."

Buffy shook her head vigorously. "No thank you."

"Not a drinker? That's okay. Let me buy you something else to drink. Non-alcoholic." he smiled.

"I said no thank you." Buffy responded, irritated.

Victor eyed her curiously. "You never mentioned your name, Miss. Or is it Mrs.? Does your husband know you are here? Do you have a weakness that he doesn't know about? Perhaps a weakness for vampires?" he asked, aggressively, placing his hand high up on Buffy's thigh.

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, no, I don't think so. First of all-you need to get your hand off of my leg before I rip it off. Secondly, I'm human, mostly. I'm twenty years old. I'm so far away from being married. Thirdly, I'm waiting for someone. Fourthly-Your hand is still on my leg. I'm seriously advising you to take it off."

"Or what?" Victor laughed, menacingly.

"Miss Summers? I believe you were asking to see me."

Buffy whirled around and saw the blonde man that Pam had been speaking to, standing behind her.

Buffy swallowed her anger down, filing it away for later. "Yes, yes I was."

Buffy turned towards Victor. "If you'll excuse me. I wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting you…wait, no I don't."

The man peered around Buffy and glared in Victor's direction. Victor, apparently taking the hint, stood up and walked away.

"If you'll follow me into my office, we can get down to business."

"Lead the way." Buffy said, flatly.

Buffy followed the man around the dance floor, towards the back of the club. He opened the door and ushered her into his office.

"Ladies first." he smiled, charmingly.

Buffy walked in and he followed, shutting the door tightly behind him.

Buffy noticed that the office was seemingly normal. Gray-ish. Desk in the middle. Papers strewn about across the desk.

"Please, Miss Summers, have a seat." he motioned towards the chairs sitting in front of the desk.

Buffy stood quietly for a moment considering. If something bad went down, she could still get up fast enough and bolt out the door.

She pulled a chair out and sat down. He followed suit and sat in his chair behind the desk.

"My name is Eric Northman. I am owner of this establishment. How can I help you, Miss Summers?"

Buffy tilted her head curiously. "How do you know my name?"

He smiled wide. "Miss Summers, I am over a thousand years old. I have lived throughout many Slayers in my lifetime. However, I must say it is strange to see you away from your Hell-mouth. I was not aware that Slayers were allowed to leave them, well, until the job is finished, of course."

Buffy stood up and pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket. She unfolded it and tossed it on Eric's desk.

Eric looked between Buffy and the paper before picking it up and reading it out loud.

"I have your sister. If you want her back, alive, you'll have to come and get her. Meet you in Shreveport, Slayer?" he read. "With the address of my bar at the bottom. How convenient." he added.

Buffy didn't say anything. She just stood still, staring at Eric, waiting for answers.

"I know it may seem hard for you to believe, but I do not have your sister, Miss Summers."

"Like you said, it is your address on the bottom of the note." she responded.

"With the circumstances that have surrounded my kind lately, mainly the ridiculous Fellowship of the Sun, I have no reason to kidnap your sister. I am a Sheriff, Miss Summers. Any slight movement of devious intention would leave me in very bad standing with my Queen, and in turn the Magister. Not to mention, I would have the AVL breathing down my neck. Things I do not wish to happen. Even if my kind hadn't decided to mainstream, I still would have no reason to take her."

"Wouldn't you though? The last time I knew, vampires didn't need a reason to do anything. They just do it, regardless of consequences."

"You have not wronged me in anyway. Simple as that."

Buffy stood quietly for a moment. She turned and leaned back against the wall, facing Eric.

"I don't think you personally took my sister."

"Hold on, Miss Summers…"

"Buffy."

"…Buffy. You don't think I took your sister?"

"No, I don't."

"Then how can I help you?"

"I think you can help me find her. She's somewhere in this area and you live here meaning that you know the area. Therefore you can help me."

"Yes, I got that, but I'm curious to know why me? And how do you know I didn't take her? Which I didn't. I'm just inquiring to know your reasoning."

"I've done my research." Buffy said.

"Research? On what?"

"You." Buffy stated simply.

"You researched me?"

Buffy started to pace.

"Well yeah. I'm not just going to abandon my duty for nothing. As much as I love my sister, I'm going to do my research first."

Eric leaned back in his chair.

"Can I ask what you found out that made you so inclined as to dismiss me right off the bat? And who, perhaps that you heard said information from?" he asked, with a smile on his face.  
"Are you going to help me or not?" Buffy asked, ignoring his question.

Eric looked Buffy up and down.

For being a mortal enemy, she wasn't actually half bad looking. Petite. She couldn't of been more than five-foot-two, which notched in comparison to his height. She had long, blonde hair, that was tightly pulled back. She wore a simple dark green long sleeved top, dark denim jeans and black heeled shoes. She was slightly tanned. Not as tan as he would have expected her to be though, coming from Southern California. Not that that had anything to do with the matter at hand.

What mattered at the moment was that the Slayer was standing in his office, asking him for help, when she barely even knew him. He figured that she had probably prodded through some ancient history books and dug up some barely useful information on him, but that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then he thought about what Sophie-Anne had said to him.

She believed that the Slayer was planning something against her. She believed it so much that she had ordered Eric to capture her and bring her to her as soon as possible.

Eric was no idiot. He realized that his Queen was up to something and somehow Buffy's sister played into that.

"I'll help you. I'll dig around and see what I can find out. We can meet in a few nights and I'll fill you in on what I've found."

"How can I contact you?" Buffy asked.

Eric stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll come to you. It's too risky here."

"Okay, I'm staying-"

"I'll find you, don't worry. Allow me to walk you out."

"No, it's okay. I can manage." she replied.

"One more thing before you go. Though, I do understand your duty, doesn't necessarily mean that I condone it. As Sheriff, I'm to punish anyone that harms any vampire in my area. Especially you."

"I'd like to see you try." she said, as she walked out the door.

"I'd certainly like to try." Eric said, smiling to himself, after she was out of sight.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: Okay, So I've decided to switch to first person writing. I tried it in third person and I just don't like it. I feel that with writing in first person, it's easier to convey and to feel all kinds of emotions, from all the parties involved.**

**I'll start with Buffy's side and if I decide to switch back and forth, I'll mark it :] Thank you for reading and thanks to those of you that have reviewed so far! I appreciate it! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two**

_**(Buffy)**_

"Xander, I just don't understand why we're waiting to tell—"

"Anya, you know why we can't say anything. It's not the right time."

"When is it going to be the right time? I'm sick of waiting."

"Anya—"

"No, Xander. When?"

Xander and Anya had been locked in the bathroom for at least twenty five minutes now, arguing. Part of me just wanted to tell them that I had already figured it out but there was a much larger part of me that just didn't care.

There was an even bigger part of me that absolutely hated looking at them, knowing that they were part of the group that did this to me. It was very hard for me to deal with the fact that I had been in a place so wonderful, so peaceful…and they tore me out in a selfish haze. My supposed best friends.

I wanted to tell them. I really did. Yet, there was a teeny tiny piece of my conscience that wouldn't. That couldn't. I couldn't do that to them. So, instead, I would just sit here and hold all my pain in. I would look them in the face and lie. I would tell them how grateful I was to them for getting me out of that pesky hell dimension I had been trapped in. I would leave off the part where I thought that this, here and now, was hell.

Not being in Sunnydale helped a lot, too, I think. It seemed to make things a little bit clearer. As much as it doesn't seem it, I wasn't as mad at Xander and Anya as I was at Willow. I know for a fact that they were just going along with whatever Willow said. I don't know a lot about magic, but I know what Willow did was some seriously dark and powerful stuff.

I tried to push the hellish thoughts from my mind, but it wasn't working. The only way my mind eased up was when I was pummeling something to death. I got up and started searching through my suitcase for suitable weaponry.

"Hey, Buff…whatcha doing?" Xander asked as he and Anya finally emerged from the bathroom.

I stayed focused on the task I was doing and less focused on the tears that were welling up in my eyes.

"Just looking for some weapons. I think I'm going to go out and patrol around a bit." I answered, hoping that my voice wouldn't betray me.

"You only packed stakes, remember? We had to fly here so we had to go through the ridiculous security procedures which didn't allow you to bring anything other than stakes." Anya said.

I stopped rummaging. "Oh, right. I forgot. Well, stakes will do then."

I grabbed a couple, putting one in each boot.

"Buff, do you think you should be going out? That Eric guy said that he would get a hold of you in—"

"A few days, yeah. It's been over a week. I'll be fine. I'm the Slayer, remember?" I said, semi-angrily.

"I'm just saying, I think you should wait—"

"For what? For the vampires that kidnapped Dawnie to kill her on TV as an example or something?"

"No, of course not. What Xander is trying to say, I think, is that you should just sit down and give this Eric another day or so." Anya said.

"I'm not sitting here and waiting anymore. Besides, how do we know that he's not part of it?"

"That's true. Buffy does make a valid point Xander." Anya agreed.

I turned, looking at her astonished.

"Anya! Did you forget that you were the one that told me about him? Have you conveniently forgot that the only reason I was giving him any trust at all, was because you vouched for him? And now you're agreeing with me that you aren't sure if we can trust him or not?" I yelled.

"Buffy, don't yell at Anya. She's just trying—"

"To help. Yeah, I know. Everyone is just trying to help." I said, furiously.

I grabbed my trust Mr. Pointy, stuck him in my coat pocket and walked out the door, slamming it in the process.

-

I hadn't been in the cemetery for long—ten, maybe fifteen minutes—when I felt the familiar tingle. It rose up my spine, right up to the hairs on my neck. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps behind me. I kept on walking, not speeding up one bit. I slowly put my hand inside my coat, grabbing hold of my stake. I could feel my blood start to boil and rise in anticipation of the coming fight. I walked a few more steps and stopped.

I barely turned around and swung blindly. My fist didn't hit anything, at first, and then suddenly I felt something grab my fist, tightly. I turned all the way around and looked into bright blue eyes.

"I wonder, do you always fight so blindly?"

I yanked my fist out of his hand and put my stake back in my coat.

"It's been over a week. Do you have any information?" I asked.

"No 'hello's'?" Eric asked, cockily.

I didn't answer. I crossed my arms and scowled.

He shook his head. "I guess not."

I huffed angrily. My temper had already been stretched when I left the hotel room and his quick avoidance of my question surely wasn't helping.

"Fine. Hello. Do you have any information?"

"I think that's the best I'm going to get. I asked around a bit, yes. Let's take a walk, shall we?" he asked, holding his arm out to me.

I sighed and reluctantly took his arm. We walked through the cemetery in silence. I tried to calm down, but after a few minutes I got restless.

"So what did you find?" I asked, as calmly as I could.

"Well, as it would seem, you're on quite a number of hit lists. I suppose I should be surprised, but I'm really not. No offense, Miss Summers."

"Buffy, remember? I hate being addressed like that." I said, quietly.

"Right, Buffy. According to a few old acquaintances that I spoke with, you've encountered Dracula? And killed him?"

I stopped walking and looked up at him, incredulously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing in particular, I'm just…a little astounded."

"Why?"

He smiled wide. "It's not important. It's just a little piece of information that I came up with while I was asking around."

"Okay, so I'm confused. Were you gathering information on my situation or just me?"

"A little of both." he replied, honestly. "I like to know who I'm working with."

I just nodded and kept walking. "Did you find out anything useful?"

"You're wanted by my Queen."

I stopped in my tracks, again. "For what?"

"I'm not quite sure. She wouldn't tell me."

"You talked to her?"

"Yes, as Sheriff of this area I have to. She is my Queen."

"Vampire politics." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I don't expect you to understand." he said flatly.

"Good, because I don't." I replied sarcastically.

Our pathetic little chatter was interrupted by a loud crack.

I turned around and saw a vampire running full force at us, with a piece of tombstone in his hands.

I ducked his first attack and his second. The third attack, he hit me with the tombstone and I went down, hard. I got back up and quickly noticed that Eric was gone.

I swung my leg down, taking the vampire down the ground. When he landed, I grabbed the piece of tombstone from his hands and tossed it away.

He tried to stand back up, but I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him against a mausoleum. I held him in place and punched him repeatedly. I poured all my anger and frustration into my fists. After several minutes, I noticed that the vampire in question had stopped moving, stopped fighting back. I dropped him to the ground. I felt Eric walk up behind me.

"Do you know him?" he asked.

"What? No, of course not." I replied.

"You could've fooled me. With all the rage you just pounded into him, I would have thought that it was a personal attack."

"Whatever." I muttered, taking Mr. Pointy out of my coat.

"I wouldn't stake him, if I were you."

"Why not?"

I asked it as I plunged the stake down into the vampire, turning him to dust.

Eric sighed and shook his head. "Because, Buffy, he was one of Nan Flanagan's personal assistants. I recognized him from dealings I've had with her in the past."

I know I should've known the name, but at the moment, I was having trouble placing it.

"Who's that again?"

"The president of the AVL. You just killed one of her personal assistants."


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N:** I'm awfully sorry for the long pause in-between updates. I got terribly lazy for a bit and couldn't for the life of me get inspired to write. I assure you that no matter how long it is between updates, I will continue this story. I don't like to leave unfinished business. =] Onto the chapter!

**Chapter Three**

**_(Buffy)_**

I shoved through the door of the hotel room that Xander, Anya and I were sharing, with Eric behind me.

"Buffy! We didn't expect you…back so soon." Xander said as he and Anya scrambled awkwardly for their ditched clothing.

I wasn't in the mood for awkwardness. I skipped right past them and started grabbing their things and tossing them back into their luggage.

"What are you doing?" Anya asked.

I didn't answer, I just continued to pack their things, with Eric standing motionless in the doorway.

"Buff. What are you doing? Why are you packing? Are we leaving?" Xander asked.

"You two are leaving. I'm staying." I answered blankly

"What? Why?" Xander asked.

I ignored him and continued packing their things.

After a minute of long, awkward silence, Xander put his hands on my shoulders.

"Buffy. Just stop for a minute. Why are we leaving? What happened?"

I stopped, took a deep breath and turned around to face him.

"Because I did something really stupid."

"I'm one of your best friends. I'm here for you when you do something stupid." Xander smiled.

"Okay I did something really stupid and potentially life-threatening to everyone around me. So, therefore, you and Anya are going back to Sunnydale with Willow, Tara, Spike and Giles. The last time I talked to Giles, he said that Faith was on her way back to take over the Hellmouth while I'm here looking for Dawn. Willow's been working day and night to fix up the Buffy-bot. You'll be safer there. Sunnydale is the potentially the safest place you could be right now."

"That gets added to the i'things I'd never thought I'd hear'/i list. Sunnydale. Safe."

"Xander. Please. Just trust me." I begged.

"What did you do?" he asked again.

Eric, more than likely fed up from our heartfelt conversation, chimed in.

"She killed one of Nan Flanagan's personal assistants."

"The vampire president lady?" Xander asked.

Eric rolled his eyes again.

"She's not the 'vampire president.' She's president of the AVL. The American Vampire League."

"In my defense, I didn't know that. I just saw a vampire wielding a tombstone as a weapon, flying at me. I just did what my instincts told me to do." I interjected loudly.

"Yes, I'm sure that will go over well with the Magister." Eric answered sarcastically.

"Screw the Magister. I'm not at all concerned with his feelings on me doing my job." I retorted.

Eric stepped fully into the room. "Buffy, you don't seem to understand the full consequences of what could come out of this."

"And I don't really care. The only reason I came to this God-forsaken city is because some group of idiotic vamps kidnapped my little sister from our house and one of them was kind enough to leave a note saying where they had taken her. A note, need I remind you, that had your address on it. If it wasn't for Anya vouching that she knew you, I probably would've killed you on sight." I breathed furiously.

Eric turned a curious glance towards Anya. "You know me?"

"Oh yes. I lived in the same village as you at one point, when we were both humans. We had intercourse in a barn. You probably don't remember—"

"Aud?"

"Oh, well I guess you do remember. Yes, that's me. Well, that was me. Now it's just Anya."

"You're not human?"

"I was a vengeance demon for awhile. Unfortunately for me, my power center was destroyed so now I'm just plain old Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins. Boring old human."

"You had sex with him?" Xander said exasperatedly.

"Oh Xander, calm down. It was a thousand years ago. Literally. A thousand years ago."

I shook my head, annoyed with the turn of conversation.

"Can we stay on topic please? You two are going back to Sunnydale. I'm going to stay here and solve this stupid ever growing, mega complicated mess." I turned back towards Eric. "And you're going to help me, as promised."

* * *

A few hours later I found myself sitting behind Eric's desk, in his office in Fangtasia, calling Giles.

"Buffy, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned by my tone of voice.

"No, but that's nothing new. Xander and Anya are on their way home."

"Why?"

"Giles, I did something really stupid. I messed up. They aren't safe around me anymore. None of you are."

"Buffy, tell me what's happened."

"I have a feeling that you'll find out soon enough. I need two of you to go pick Xander and Anya up from the airport in a few hours. Around dawn-ish."

"Yes, of course, but Buffy please. I'm your Watcher. Just tell—"

"I want everybody in pairs or groups from now on. No one's safe alone. I don't want anyone to find out about Faith. It's the only way to keep her safe. Call Angel and tell him everything. Tell him everything I just told you, except where I am. I don't need or want him riding in on a white horse just to get himself dusted. The only place he goes is the Hellmouth."

"Buffy, won't you please just tell me what is going on?" Giles pleaded, again.

"I told you. I screwed up, apparently big time. I don't want to say anything about it over the phone, just in-case. Just please trust me Giles. Right now, the Hellmouth is the safest place for all of you to be."

"What of Dawn?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I haven't found her yet, but as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know. This phone call will probably be one of the last times you hear from me until then, though."

"Buffy—"

"It's too dangerous for me to keep in contact with you right now. Please just understand, Giles. Please." I begged.

"I do, Buffy, I do. Just please, be safe. I'll call Angel right away. Call us as soon as you can." Giles said after another long pause.

"I will. Give my love to everyone. Except Spike. Don't give my love to Spike."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Bye, Giles."

He sighed deeply. "Goodbye, Buffy."

I gently set the phone into the receiver and slid my head into my hands. I was glad to have Xander and Anya safely aboard the airplane, flying towards home. I wanted to do this alone.

No. I _needed_ to do this alone.

Being alone meant that I didn't have to look at the ones that did this to me. The ones that made me feel this way all the time.

Angry.

Hurt.

Dejected.

Wounded.

Betrayed.

I didn't realize I was crying until I felt the warm tears slide down my cheeks.

I sat with my head in my hands for another few minutes until I felt his presence. I quickly stood up and turned around, facing the wall. I wiped my eyes as clean as I could with no mirror to aide me.

Rule number whatever: Don't let the gorgeous vampiric helper/potential enemy see you at your weakest.

I turned back around and folded my arms.

"Are you finished?" he asked, gesturing toward the telephone.

"Yes." I replied quietly.

"You've been crying." he stated.

"No, no, uh, just an, uh, allergic reaction to something. I'll be fine." I stammered.

He walked up closer to me and stopped when he was standing less than an inch away.

"Buffy, I'm over a thousand years old. You can at least do me the justice of not taking me for an idiot." he half-smiled.

My instincts told me to be afraid of his close proximity to me. However, my body begged to differ.

He stared into my eyes for an intense moment before shaking his head and walking back around his desk towards the door.

"Come with me." he beckoned.

I followed him, hesitantly, as we walked out the back door of the nightclub and down a rocky path. At the end of the path, there was a large, old fashioned house. Victorian, I think. I'm not sure. Surprisingly, I don't know a lot about house types.

Eric led me up the stairs and opened the front door. "Miss Summers, won't you come in?"

I laughed a dry, sarcastic laugh. "You don't need to invite me in. I'm not the vampire." I said, stepping over the threshold.

"I was being polite." he said, pointedly.

I didn't answer; I just nodded and followed him up a long set of stairs and down a hallway. Eric stopped at one of the bedrooms and opened the door, ushering me in.

I walked into the large bedroom. Eric stayed standing in the doorway.

"I've taken the liberty of having your things moved here. I feel that this the best place to hide you while we search for your sister."

"Hide me?"

"As I said before, there will be consequences of your actions. Ms. Flanagan will be calm faced to the public. After the cameras shut off though, she will be out for blood. I have no doubts that she will make you out to be a terror. Someone for the public to fear. She will have vampires and other creatures of the night out to get you."

I laughed. "That's my life in a nutshell."

"Buffy, I'm serious. She will have all kinds of terrible monsters coming after you."

"Do you even know the definition of the word 'Slayer'?"

"Do you?"

I briefly flashed back to my encounter with Dracula. And with the first Slayer. This speech was becoming seemingly familiar.

"Eric, I'm very grateful for everything that you are doing to help me, however, if this is going to be the _'Your-powers-are-rooted-in-Evil/Death-is your-gift'_ speech, I've got some bad news for you. You're a little late. I've already heard it."

We were both silent for a moment when Eric's cell phone rang.

"What is it?" he answered into the receiver.

He listened to the person on the other end quietly. He muttered something angrily in another language and slammed the phone shut.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"I need you to stay here and stay hidden. I'll be back." He turned out of the door frame and started down the hallway.

I rushed out into the hall and followed him.

"Eric, what's going? Who was that on the phone? Is it about Dawn?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned back towards me. He grabbed me roughly by the arm and literally dragged me back to my new room.

"When I say that I need you to stay put and that I will be back, I expect you to obey that."

He shoved me aggressively into the room and closed the door tightly behind me. I heard it lock, from the outside.

"To answer your question, It was Pam informing me that the Queen has arrived and is waiting for me in my office."


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N:** It's a short one I know, but it's chock full of yummy information goodness!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_**(Eric)**_

I sat behind the desk in my office, Sophie-Anne's voice barely registering a sound to me.

"Eric! Are you listening to me? We have a problem here!" her shrill voice shrieked.

I managed to bring myself out of the small trance my mind had set itself into.

"My apologies, your majesty. Please, forgive me. It has been a long week. You were saying?"

"I asked if you had had any luck in securing the Slayer."

I didn't answer immediately. I didn't want to lie to my Queen but for some reason I couldn't quite figure out, I didn't want to throw Buffy under the bus, either.

Not just yet, anyway.

Not until I had some actual information, from both parties.

"I have seen her, yes. However, I wasn't able to capture her." I said.

It wasn't a direct lie, however it also wasn't the direct truth.

"Eric, there's a reason I've counted you as one of my top go-to vampires. You're very powerful. Tell me why she isn't sitting in front of me right now." she said with a falsely calm face.

"I followed her down the street and to the cemetery. Right when I thought I had the best chance of taking her, another vampire came out. She fought it and killed it-"

"She killed a vampire in your Area, Sheriff. That bargains for just punishment." the other male in the room voiced.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Bill, how nice to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same." Bill drawled out in his deeply southern accent.

I stood up and paced nearer to him. "You're a procurer, correct?"

Bill shifted a bit from his stance against the wall. "Yes, that is correct."

"Well how about you stay in your job and let me do mine." I sneered.

"Boys, boys! Now, stop that! Play nicely." Sophie-Anne declared.

I walked over and leaned up against my desk. "Again, my apologies your majesty. The reason I was not able to capture her was because the vampire she killed, well, he wasn't our run of the mill variety. He happened to be a very close personal assistant to Nan Flanagan."

Bill looked shocked but Sophie-Anne just smiled.

"Well, this may turn out to be even more entertaining than I originally thought."

"Your majesty, if I could be so bold as to ask…what is this all about?"

Her smile faded. "I suppose it's only necessary that you know the details."

She paused momentarily and began.

"About a month ago, we were ambushed at the palace. They stole my dearest Hadley. Kidnapped her right from under me. They threw silver at us and held us down. He told me that if I did not obey his every order, that he would have no problems killing my Hadley."

"Who?" I asked.

She sighed heavily, stood up and started pacing my office.

"That stupid minister from the television. The one that's come out against us all."

That certainly raised my alarm. "The Fellowship of the Sun?" I questioned.

She nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking…" I prodded.

"I believe that he singled me out as I have the best procurer in the land, however, he told me very plainly that I was just the middle man in the situation. That no harm would be done to me or Hadley or Bill if I obeyed his every order. Odds being what they were, I accepted the challenge."

"What does he want?"

"After the Great Revelation, he apparently had a bad run in with the Slayer and her sister. He offered her 'the chance of a lifetime'…he offered her to join up with the Fellowship so they could go on vamp-killing sprees and rid the world of extreme abomination. Apparently, the two little twits offended him pretty bad. Bad enough to where he came looking for me. He had me send Bill after them. Bill's job was to bring both the sisters back. If I were to hand over the Slayer and her sister, then he would give me my Hadley back and bygones would be bygones. Though, apparently, something went wrong, because Bill only came back with the sister."

"I've apologized a thousand times, your majesty, and I'll apologize a thousand more." Bill interjected.

Sophie-Anne turned to Bill. "I know. It's not your fault." she smiled at her favorite procurer.

She turned back to me. "Eric, I'm trusting you completely with this. You have exactly three days to find her and bring her to me so I can hand her over to the Fellowship."

I looked my Queen dead in the eyes. "I won't fail you."


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**_(Buffy)_**

I was far beyond pissed. So very far.

It wasn't very hard for me to bust down the door that Eric had locked me behind. I waited a few minutes until I was sure that he was gone and then I just simply crushed the door knob, sending the previously locked door swinging free.

Sometimes, it's good to be a freak.

Once outside, I let my Slayer senses stretch out to make sure there was no impending danger. I then very carefully made my way back up the path towards Fangtasia. I figured that being the Queen and all, she would probably have some heavy duty security with her. I certainly wasn't stupid enough to go bounding in through the front nor was I about to do any work with the venting system in the ceiling.

That's how every dumb blonde damsel-in-distress bites it in the movies.

So, I just settled for snuggling up to the wall outside, eavesdropping through the window above.

Fast forward one conversation and enter a massively pissed off Buffy.

As soon as I felt that I had heard enough, I hightailed it back to Eric's house. I paced angrily around outside for awhile, letting all the anger from the last month boil to the surface. 

The more I thought about it all—not just the convo between Eric and the Queen, but literally everything—the angrier I got. The angrier I got, the more I needed to vent.

I kicked the porch railing as hard as I could. It snapped into pieces and I still didn't feel any better.

The rational part of my brain kicked in and told me that I needed to get back inside—just in case.

For once, I actually listened to it and walked back inside. 

* * *

It was maybe ten minutes later when I felt Eric's presence in the doorway of the bedroom.

I had my back to him. I was staring emptily out of the window, arms folded, thinking about everything. This whole situation. Dawn. My death. My resurrection. Everything.

"Is there a specific reason that my porch railing is splintered into pieces?"

I didn't answer.

"Well then is there a reason that your door knob is a piece of crushed metal?"

"Can I trust you?" I asked quietly.

I kept my back to him and my eyes out the window.

"Would you still be alive if you couldn't?"

"That's not a real answer. The question I asked has a very simple 'yes' or 'no' answer. I need to know if I can trust you."

He sighed angrily. "What did you hear?"

"Enough."

"That's not a real answer." he mocked.

"I heard enough to question your trust. I also you heard you promising not to fail your stupid Queen."

"Buffy—"

I turned around and walked up to Eric, still standing in the door, looking like some kind of Nordic sex-God. My veins were burning with heat and my voice was shaking with anger.

"You have no idea what I've been through. What I'm going through. You have no idea the lengths I've gone to, just to keep my sister alive."

"I take it that this happens often then?" he smiled smugly.

I reached back and punched him as hard as I could. The force of the blow sent him flying out of the door and down the stairs.

Before he could register what had happened, I was there. I kicked him hard in the ribs and knelt down on top of him, holding him in place with my legs.

I ripped open Eric's shirt so that his perfect pale skin was showing. His eyes darkened and his fangs popped out.

I pulled the silver cross necklace that Angel had give me—so long ago now—out from underneath my shirt collar. I unhooked the chain and pressed the pure silver cross down until it sank into his skin with a disgusting sizzle. He let out a deafening cry—whether it was from pain or pleasure, I'm not sure.

"Now that I have your full attention, listen up. You may not want to cross your Queen, I get it. Vampire politics, whatever. But understand this—you do **NOT** want me as your enemy. My little sister, well, you see, she's kind of the only thing I have left in this world. My mother's dead. My father doesn't want anything to do with me. The few close friends I have, I can't even trust them anymore." I seethed furiously.

Tears started to well up in my eyes.

"I died for her. I literally went face to face with a Hell-Goddess and sacrificed myself so that Dawn wouldn't have to. It was all about the blood, you see. She needed Dawn's blood to open the portal and only Dawn's blood could close it. A drop to open it and the rest to close it. I tried to hold Glory off from starting the ceremony but none of us realized…she already had someone up there, waiting in the wings. Spike, he tried to save her but he was too weak, from the fight on the ground. I ran up to her but…but it was too late. He had already cut Dawn and the process was started. She was going to jump but I held her back. That's when it clicked. I had an epiphany of sorts. I was told that death was my gift. Dawn's blood is my blood. She was made out of me…"

I paused for a moment, taking a breath. Tears were now rapidly flowing down my face.

"I told her to take care of our friends. Tell them I loved them. I told her I loved her. And I jumped. I died so she wouldn't have to. The next thing I remember…is waking up in the pitch black. It was tight. I couldn't breathe. I punched and dug and crawled my way out. I stood and stared at my grave. They brought me back, you see. My friends. In a terrible fit of selfishness, they resurrected me. They thought that I was caught in some horrible hell dimension. I wasn't. I wasn't. I…I was in Heaven. I think I was in Heaven. I was at peace. Resting peacefully. What everyone dreams of after they die. I was loved. I was…happy. And they ripped. Me. Out."

By the end, I was in sob mode. I had dropped the cross from Eric's chest somewhere in the middle of my vent-rant. He just stayed quiet and still underneath me.

I moved off of him and sat quietly on the floor. He pulled himself up and sat against the wall.

After a few moments, I stood up.

"That's why I need to know if I can trust you or not. I need to know if my reason for dying was worth it." I said, in almost a whisper.

I started to walk back towards the stairs, but I turned around and went back to Eric.

I pulled Mr. Pointy out of my boot and pressed it against Eric's heart.

"You have two choices. Either find this Reverend for me or tell me where I can find him. Your Queen gave you three nights, I'm giving you two. And if you think that I'm not serious…if you think that I'm in any way kidding, about anything, I dare you to test me. I. Dare. You. I swear on my life and all things Holy…if my sister has even one scratch on her…if she...I **will kill you**. And it won't be quick. I'll make it as slow and painful as I possibly can. You'll be begging for the sun to rise. I can promise you that."


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N**: This is another one of those little itty bitty timeline switches I was talking about before. Godric doesn't die in Dallas, as he does in the show. He's already dead. Sad, I know. =/

**Chapter Six**

_**(Eric)**_

I awoke earlier than usual the next evening. I looked over at the clock hanging on my bare wall. It was only a little past six. I got up and walked over to my computer that was sitting in the corner of my room. Buffy gave me two nights to find this Reverend Newlin. Sophie-Anne had given me three to hand over Buffy.

To be honest, after my conversation with Sophie-Anne last night, I had every intention of handing Buffy over. But after my little rendezvous with Buffy last night…I didn't know anymore.

It wasn't Buffy's threats that had gotten to me, per se, even though that silver cross hurt like a bitch. No, it was her story. It takes a lot to die for someone…honor, loyalty, courage and nobility. All traits that I respected.

My reputation among my many acquaintances perceives me as a cold-hearted, arrogant, smug bastard. However, it's not all true. I can show humanity, occasionally. Not often and certainly not to everyone, but it has been known to happen.

Once I was online, I went straight to the Fellowship of the Sun's web-page, figuring it was probably the best place to start. A few clicks here and there and not only did I have my starting grounds, but I also had a plan forming.

I turned the computer off and got dressed quickly. My death-like sleep had only mostly healed the silver cross burn. I still had a giant red scar-like mold pressed into my chest. I attributed it to her Slayer strength.

I chose a black pull-over hoodie to go with my jeans. I didn't exactly feel up to flashing the new skin addition around town. Just because I was about to show Buffy some humanity…that didn't mean that I wanted to show it to everyone. I still had my cold-hearted reputation to uphold for everyone else.

I walked out into the hallway and down to Buffy's room. I knocked several times but there was no answer. Just as I was walking down the stairs, she walked through the front door. I stopped in the middle of the stairs as soon as I saw her.

For the first time, I actually noticed her beauty at not only face value, but emotional value. Her long blonde hair was pulled back with just a little bit of fringe falling down around her face. She was wearing a short black leather jacket with a deep red blouse underneath and dark tight jeans that fit perfectly around her hips. She wore tall black boots that laced up the front and she had her jeans tucked into them.

Her facial features were sad and sullen, much as they had been last night. I could actually physically see the pain that she was in.

She stopped as soon as she saw me. We stood in an uncomfortable awkward silence, both of us too stubborn to be the first one to speak.

That's the smug bastard I was talking about.

After another few minutes though, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"I'm an arrogant, cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch. I know that. A thousand plus-years of living and that's what I have to show for it. Am I proud of it? Yeah, okay, maybe a little. I wouldn't have gotten this far in my life, or my un-life, without being that way. You had every right to question my trust because honestly, as of last night, as of the end of my conversation with Sophie-Anne, I was planning on handing you over."

"And now?" she asked quietly. Her arms were folded and she stared down at the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"Now…I'm not. You have my word."

She seemed skeptical and rightfully so.

"Why should I believe you now?" she questioned.

"It wasn't your actions or your violence that changed my mind, but on that topic, I still have the silver cross mark imprinted on my chest. It was your story. I've been where you have. Well, not exactly where you have. I've been on the other side. In the late 1970's, my maker, Godric, and I were in New York City. We had just been feeding in Times Square and were walking back to where we were sleeping when a young woman appeared out of nowhere. She told us that she knew what we were and she had seen us feeding earlier. She pulled out a small revolver and aimed it. I took one step forward…my intentions were actually good. I only meant to glamour her, but just as I went to step forward, she pulled the trigger. Godric jumped in front of me…my only guess is that he was acting on instinct."

"Bullets don't kill vamps." she deadpanned.

"Wooden ones do. She hit him right square in the heart. He exploded. My world died. He died for me. Just like you died for your sister. That is the exact definition of honor. Courage. Nobility. Loyalty. Those are all things that I can not only value in a person, but respect."

She was quiet for a minute, like she was trying to figure something out. Finally, after several more minutes, she spoke.

"Not to press on bad memories, but do you happen to recall the exact year?"

"1977. Why?" I asked, momentarily confused.

Buffy's face drew into a small, nearly invisible smile.

"Don't worry. That Slayer didn't last long after she killed your maker. The vampire I briefly mentioned last night when I…well, Spike. He killed her."

"I'm not the first vampire you've associated with in a non-Slayer capacity? I'm hurt." I mocked. I smiled briefly to let her know that I was joking.

"Not the first and surely not the last. Aren't you supposed to be finding me a Reverend to pummel? Okay, that sounds so wrong. Forgive me, P-T-B." she rambled.

"Done and done. But first things first…I've formed a small plan and I'm certain that there's parts of it that you're not going to like but you must adhere to them. And trust me. You have to trust me. No matter what."

"You've found him already?"

"The internet. Lovely invention, sweetheart."

She was quiet and contemplative for a moment before she answered.

"Okay, what's the plan?"


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_(Buffy)_

I wasn't quite sold on the plan, but I really had nothing better to go with at the moment. I had already been here closing in on two weeks. I had let this go on too long.

Though, the two weeks away from Sunnydale wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Despite Xander and Anya being here for the first half, I had thoroughly enjoyed getting off of the Hellmouth. A large part of me didn't want to go back. That part of me thought it would be so nice to just get Dawn and take her away somewhere. Some place where I wouldn't have to lie to the faces of my supposed best friends. Some place where I could successfully forget about and squash down the secret that kept rising up in me like acid.

I shook my head trying to rid myself of the memories and focus on the task ahead. Eric looked over at me, curiously.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah…yeah. I'm fine." I replied, quietly.

"Are you sure? Your radiating—"

"I said I'm fine. Can we please focus?" I snapped at him.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. This way." he said, taking the lead, walking in front of me.

"Any particular reason that we are walking?" I asked, after several moments of silence.

"Well, Sophie-Anne's place is hidden—quite beautifully. I don't think that I would fair so well if she found out that I let a vampire killer know the way to her place. That and I find that cars don't seem to travel as fast as me." he winked.

"Ugh. Please don't remind me of the flying." I said, holding onto my stomach. "Nausea City."

"You know, for a fearless warrior of the night, I wouldn't have expected your scream to be so…girly." he smiled.

"Well, I am in fact a girl. Hence the girly screams."

"Yes, so I've noticed." he smiled, suggestively.

I didn't miss the fact that he had hit on me.

We walked in a highly comfortable silence for a few more minutes. That is until Eric decided to ruin it by opening his mouth.

"You feel empty."

"Huh?"

"A part of the…well, I can feel your feelings. Well, I should be able to. But all I feel from you is emptiness."

I didn't answer. I swallowed hard and walked a few paces ahead of him. A few paces that he easily matched in one step.

Damn.

"I'm waiting."

"For what?." I asked, coldly.

"An explanation."

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but you're just going to have to keep on waiting." I huffed, folding my arms tightly. I walked faster, ahead of Eric once again.

He grabbed my elbow and whirled me around, stopping us in the middle of the dirt road.

"Buffy, I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I have been completely honest with you. What we are about to do, it requires a high level of trust. I understand that I may have stretched your trust a bit thin so far, but have I given you any reason to not trust me? In the last forty-eight hours, anyway."

"No." I answered quietly. "No. You haven't."

He moved his hand from my elbow down to my hands, holding them tightly between his. He laid the power of his gorgeous crystal blue eyes on me.

"I'm only asking you to trust me a little bit more."

I stared into his eyes quietly for a moment, contemplating. A sudden thought occurred to me.

"Hey! You're trying to glamour me!" I said trying to wriggle my hands free from his.

"No, I'm not, Buffy. I promise. I wouldn't."

"Yes, Eric, you would. You, of all people, would try it undoubtedly until you got what you wanted." I retorted.

"Okay, yes, I would. I would and I have. But you know what I found out? It doesn't work on you. I don't know why, but consider yourself lucky. You are, without a doubt, un-glamour-able." he said, raising his voice.

"Oh." I muttered. "When? When did you try?"

"The first night you were in my office. The second time, in the cemetery. The third time, in my house. Shall I keep going?"

I shook my head.

"I'm just trying to help you, Buffy. Honestly."

I didn't answer. After several long, uncomfortable minutes of dead silence, we started walking again. This time though, instead of walking side by side with me, Eric walked steadily in front of me.

I think I pissed him off.

I walked silently behind him. The emptiness he had sensed loomed heavily over my head. Heavier than I had ever felt it before. Not that I was feeling a lot these days.

"I was happier when I was dead."

Eric stopped. His back was still to me, but I could tell that he was listening.

"Everything here is so…dark. And painful. And violent. My friends, they thought that they were rescuing me from some dimension of Hell, but…to me, this, right here, _this_ is Hell."

Eric stood silently, his back still turned.

"I've been through a lot of horrific things since becoming the Slayer. I've stopped at least two apocalypses a year. I've lost people. Friends. Angel. Mom. I've battled some of the scariest opponents that the Slayerdom has shown me. But do you want to know the scariest moment to me? Looking into the mirror and realizing that I'll never be as happy as I was when I was dead. When I was in Heaven. I look into the mirror everyday and everyday I have that thought. That's why the only thing I feel is emptiness. Because I am empty. Of everything."

Silent tears ran down my face.

He zipped over to me in his blurry vampire speed.

"That is absolute nonsense. You will be happy again. You'll feel again. I know a little bit about what you're going through…you will feel again. I promise."

"Oh, yeah, because you're all about the touchy-feely, right Captain Feelings?" I mocked.

"You know only a fraction of me. A very small fraction. I do actually feel emotions." he growled.

"You're awesome at showing them." I retorted, sarcastically.

"I am in a position of great power. I can't just go all emotional. I have to have a solid face, so to say. But that doesn't mean I don't hold humanity in me, because I do. You are the one of the prime examples."

"What?"

"I showed you great humanity by not killing you on sight. Like I'm supposed to."

"Well, I kinda wish you would've." I mumbled.

"No. Don't ever say that. You don't see it now, but you have a world to live for."

"Yeah, a world full of chaos and destruction and…hell. A world I want no part of."

"Well, that's just too bad. You were brought back for a reason."

"Yeah, my friends got selfish and—"

"I'm not talking about that. I don't know a lot about magic but I know enough to know that resurrection requires an immense amount of power—from both sides. Meaning, that if the Powers didn't want you to come back, if it was truly your time to go...they would never have let your friend's spell work."

As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point.

"Think about it, Buffy. You are one of the best Slayers that has ever been. And I'm not just saying that."

"Go on." I said, curiously.

"I thought that this would be easier for you to see."

"What?"

"You're known around the world for being the only Slayer that has survived for more than a year. I would dare say that you're almost feared." he said. "I thought you would've known that." he added on, taking in my surprised look.

I'm not sure if he was being honest with me or not, but, well, I didn't really care. His words kind of comforted me. Just a little bit. Just enough.

"Okay, you win. I surrender." I said at last.

He grinned wide. "I always do." 

* * *

About ten or so minutes later, Eric stopped walking and pulled me aside.

"Plan A?" I asked.

He smiled. "Yes. Please, just remember to trust me."

I sighed. "You got it."

"Hit me."

"What?"

"Hit me."

"Are you demented?"

"Buffy—"

I launched my fist back and punched him several times in rapid succession, the last blow landing him on the ground.

"How's that?" I asked, bending over him. A small smile formed on my lips.

"I think we should spar sometime." he commented, as he got up. "Also, please forgive me for this."

With that, he landed a hard punch on my face. It sent me stumbling back, into a tree.

"Okay?"

I laughed. "It's going to take more than a punch to the face to take me down."

"Yes, I've seemed to notice that about you." he smiled. "Ready?"

I nodded and he grabbed me roughly by the arm and sped down the road towards our destination.

In a matter of seconds, we were in front of large gate. There were two burly vampire guards standing in front of it.

"Mr. Northman, is the Queen expecting you?" one of them asked.

"No, not exactly."

"You know that you need to have—"

"Just tell her I have a present for her." he growled. I didn't miss that his fangs were fully extended.

I wrestled with Eric's grip a little bit, playing up my part. He wasn't actually holding onto me as tight as it appeared.

The vampire in question sped off towards the palace, while the other one stood still and silent. He was back in less than a minute, ushering us into the Queen.

We walked up a long walk that was surrounded by…a moat? I couldn't really make too much out. It was pitch black out and Eric's punch had undoubtedly landed close enough to my eye to make it swell a bit, blurring my vision.

It was better when we got inside. It was very bright. Very bright and very grand. We were ushered into a room that had a large pool in it. I noticed her right away.

She was pale, obviously, but not like vampire-pale. No, her paleness was more of a classic variety. Her reddish hair was straight, but it curled tightly at the end. She wore bright red lipstick, something I normally would frown upon, however, it totally worked for her. She was wearing and old fashioned 1950's white bathing suit, with white cat-eyed sunglasses tucked into her hair.

She leapt up off of her chaise as soon as she saw us enter.

"Eric! How wonderful to see you again! And with such great news! Is this her? Is this the-"

"Your majesty, I would require that we talk in private. If that is okay with you, of course." Eric interrupted.

"Yes, of course. Everyone, you are dismissed. Go away, please. Mr. Northman and I have matters to discuss."

I watched [sort of] as her lackeys slowly dismissed themselves from the room. Once they were all gone, Eric let go of my arm. I stood up straight. I didn't miss the look that Sophie-Anne gave Eric.

"What is the meaning of this, Eric?" she asked gravely. She apparently had caught onto the fact that I wasn't forced into coming here.

"Of what, your majesty?" he asked.

"This." she answered, pointing towards me.

"This?" Eric said, in reference to me.

"Yes, that."

"Okayyy. This and that standing right here. This and that has a name, thank you." I said, annoyed.

"How dare you talk to me like that. I am a Queen!"

"Yes, but you are not my Queen. _Thankfully_." I retorted.

"Ladies, if you'll settle down, we can get to business." Eric interjected.

"Business? What business? Your orders were to bring me the Slayer and here she stands."

"I won't lie to you. I'm not going to hand her over."

"Eric Northman, I can and will have you punished for this!" she spat.

"I'm not going to hand her over because I think she can be useful to us." he clarified.

"Useful?" Sophie-Anne and I answered at the same time.

"Yes. Useful."

"How?" Sophie-Anne asked.

"Well, this Reverend Newlin…he kidnapped your Hadley in exchange for the Slayer?"

"Yes."

"He also is the one who has the Slayer's sister."

"Yes."

"Your majesty, I've been working with Buffy and I've come up with a plan, a plan that she's agreed to."

"What kind of treason is this?" Sophie-Anne raged.

"I assure you, Eric is in no way planning treason." I answered. "I promise. I'm not here to cause problems for you all...even though I am the Slayer…I'm simply here to get my sister back. This Reverend Newlin has seriously crossed the line. Our plan, if your interested?"

She sat quiet for a moment, contemplating.

"Carry on." she answered a few moments later.

"We are going to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun. I'm figuring that's where they are being held captive. With any luck, I can grab your Hadley and my sister and get out of there with little-to-no one noticing."

She sat quiet for another moment, still contemplating.

Eric stood still and silent, but for some reason I could feel his nervousness at her quietness.

Finally, after several very long moments, Sophie-Anne spoke.

"When are you planning on leaving?"


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

_(Buffy)_

"Wouldn't it have been faster for you to do the flying thing?"

Eric smiled and laughed a little.

"Yes, extremely."

"Sooo…why aren't we doing that?"

"While I am an exceptionally strong vampire, there is no way that I would be able to fly back to Shreveport holding three extra people. And there's no way I'm letting you drive my car."

"I'm not that bad." I protested, quietly.

"That may be true, however, I have this instinct telling me to not let you behind the wheel." he smiled.

The next few minutes were silent as we drove. I could somehow tell that he had many questions plaguing his mind, but none he dared to ask me. Apparently, the last few nights of 'Buffy-goes-insane' had made a good impression on him.

A thought occurred to me.

"Eric?"

"What?"

I didn't quite know how to verbalize what I wanted to ask without sounding insane, so I just blurted it out.

"I can feel what you feel."

He smiled. "Yes, that's normal. I also feel what you feel. Hence how I felt your emptiness."

I ignored the acidic depression rising up and pressed on.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"I mean, why did we do the blood exchange again? You weren't just trying to get a free snack out of me, right?"

He laughed. "No, I prefer to get my meals willingly." he said, suggestively.

"Yeah, no, keep dreaming on that front."

"Every single day." he smiled.

I didn't answer. I noticed that as the night wore on, he was getting more and more suggestive. I also noticed that I wasn't minding too much.

"We did it so that when…when the AVL comes breathing down your neck about your adventure in the cemetery, I can vouch for you."  
"Okay…and that means?"

"Blood exchange between a vampire and a human, like we did, is, well, it's not about feeding. It's more than that. It's kind of like slavery. No, Buffy, I'm not going to use you as a slave. Well, unless you want…okay, no. Anyway, your blood is in me now, so therefore I will have a general idea of where you are at all times. I'll be able to feel your feelings. Even when your all the way back in California, I'll be able to feel them. Just like you'll be able to feel mine. Say you're in a crowd of one-hundred vampires. You'd be able to pick me out in five seconds flat."

"That was very informational, however, you completely didn't answer my question."

"If you haven't noticed, I have a lot of authority. If the AVL comes after you, well, I should say when the AVL comes after you, I'll be able to pull some strings."

"How?"

"All I have to do is tell them you are my human and I've already punished you for it."

"And they would believe that?"

"If we make it believable enough."

I just nodded my head and we were silent for another few awkward car ride moments.

"I'm honestly very surprised that you went along with it. With any of this, actually." Eric said, breaking the silence and my thoughts.

We passed a road sign indicating our entry into Dallas.

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." 

* * *

**_(Eric)_**

Buffy intrigued me.

Right from the very moment she sauntered into my bar. She was captivating. Extremely captivating. Soon, well, after she beat the living piss out of me, I tended to notice little quirks about her. Little ticks that she did with her facial expressions. The worry that lit her face when she was undoubtedly thinking about her sister. The sadness that pierced her when she talked about her friends and going home.

We were positioned in some bushes that ran along the gated entrance to the Fellowship of the Sun. Buffy sat quietly, staring at the 'soldiers' I could feel that she was in all Slayer mode right now. It was her feelings, no, it was my vampiric instinct telling me that she was a danger.

"Okay, so it looks like we have a couple of options." she said, breaking my thoughts apart.

"What are they?" I asked.

"Well, we could scale the fence…somehow. Or we could try to sneak in through the gate when it opens. I have no problem knocking a couple of these guys out."

"Or we could go for plan C." I smiled.

"Plan C? Do I dare ask what plan C is?" she hesitated.

I grinned and grabbed a hold of her waist, tightly, shooting us up into the air. I landed behind the giant church.

"Okay, plan C it is I guess." she commented.

I noticed a tiny window on the bottom of the wall. I walked over, leaned down and gazed in, carefully.

I stood back up and motioned Buffy over. "I think you need to take a look at this."

She bent down and looked through the window. When she stood back up, she was beyond pissed. She was fuming.

She looked around the area and found a thick, broken tree branch. She picked it up and spun it around a couple of times.

"This will do perfectly."

I looked at her curiously, wishing that I could know what she was thinking.

She took the large tree branch and catapulted it through one of the windows.

She looked at me and then up to the broken window. I smiled and grabbed a hold of her and again shot us up into the air, just enough to get us into the window.

As soon as we stepped inside the church, we were surrounded by people. 'Soldiers.' At least fifteen of them. Maybe twenty.

"How dare you desecrate our sacred church!" one of them shouted out.

"You'll burn in Hell for this!" another one shouted.

"Well maybe you should tell your leader that the Powers upstairs don't look to kindly on people that use other beings to meddle in the life of the Slayer." Buffy spat.

We were both distracted by the sound of a single person clapping and the crowd of idiots parting. Who I knew to be Reverend Newlin stepped through the crowd.

"How do they look upon a Slayer for consorting with the vermin that She is supposed to be executing?" he retorted.

"How will they look upon you for using medieval torture practices to force a vampire Queen into doing your dirty bidding?" I growled.

"It was very stupid of you to come here alone. Especially when we are outnumbering you." Newlin said to me.

He flicked his hand and his little soldier toys started to advance.

"If you're going to kill him, you're going to have to go through me." Buffy said, jumping in front of me. "And I'm really positive that the Powers frown upon humans that kill other humans. Especially ones that happen to be Slayers." she added.

"Stop." Newlin said to his soldier idiots.

Buffy walked forward to him. I could feel the rage that she felt and I have to say, it was intoxicating.

She grabbed the Reverend by the throat and flung him up against the wall. Immediately, all the solider's pointed their idiotic vampire-killing weapons at her.

"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell your little toy soldiers to leave. And then you're going to show me where my sister and the Queen's girl are. And then you're going to get a life and leave my family and friends alone. Do I make myself clear?"

"And then what? You're going to kill me? That seems like it would hold a rather bad taste in your mouth." he choked out.

"You bunch of idiots do know that she is not a vampire right? You know that she is a human. So your little vampire killing machines won't do any good against her." I said.

One that was in the front looked at me and spoke up. He was tall. Dark hair. Idiot.

"They may not kill her, but they will injure her enough to the point that she will learn her lesson. Steve has been teaching us about her and her sinful ways. No, they may not kill her. But they will kill you. And that will be the end of her lesson."

"I am over a thousand years old. Do you really think that you could kill me?" I smiled.

He didn't answer. I saw his hand go for his pocket. I ran at him and threw him up against the wall. He hit hard, head first. He slid down the wall, unconscious. Hopefully unconscious, anyway.

Apparently, that's what started the chaos. Several of them came flying at me, in the process knocking Buffy's grip on Newlin's throat. I didn't see much of what happened then. I grabbed a couple of them by the neck and tossed them out the window. I spun around and knocked a few other's weapons from their hands.

I looked over to the far corner and saw Buffy fighting off several people. She was an extraordinary fighter. I marveled at her skills. At the way that her body moved so…fluidly. I could tell that this when she was really at home. Fighting off the bad guys.

I noticed the Reverend trying to disappear through a door out of the corner of my eye.

"Buffy!" I yelled.

"Kinda busy!" she yelled back.

I tossed the guys I was fighting against a wall and ran up to her.

"He went through that door. Go. Get your sister. I'll take care of these guys and meet up with you." 

* * *

**_(Buffy)_**

"He went through that door. Go. Get your sister. I'll take care of these guys and meet up with you."

I looked around us. There had to be at least ten or so guys armed with all kinds of ridiculous vampire killing weapons.

And Eric was willing to take them all on, by himself, so I could go get Dawn.

I punched out the guy that I had struggling in my grip. I looked back at Eric.

"Thank you."

"Buffy, go." he responded.

I turned and ran through the door that the Reverend had gone through.

I ran through a large hall and then down several flights of stairs. There was a door and another series of hallways at the bottom. I maneuvered my way through them until I came to the jackpot.

There was a large, heavy, metal door. I could barely hear voices on the other side of it, picking up Dawn's immediately thanks to my super human hearing abilities. I pushed on the door in several places without it budging an inch.

I walked backwards a few steps and focused all my speed and strength into my feet. I ran, jumped up and kicked the door in. It fell easily from the frame. I walked into the room to see what I had seen from the tiny window outside.

Dawn was chained up to the wall. There was a pretty blonde girl chained up next to her. They were both dirty and had rips and tears in their clothing.

"It seems that your little whore of a sister has been keeping secrets. Why, today we just found out what she can do."

I heard the Reverend speak from the other side of the room. I looked over and saw that he had a large knife in his hands.

"You know, when I had heard some of the stories of your pathetic little Hell town, I had to admit, I thought that they were a bit…encouraged. You know, falsified. But then, I had my wife do a little digging in some of the ancient books, all for Holy purposes of course, and, well, it appears that everything is true."

"I advise that you put that knife down. I wouldn't want any accidents to happen." I seethed.

"There was one prophecy that I had read that stated something about the energy being the key to the door. I happened to mention this to your sister and she strangely flinched when I said the word 'key'. Now why do you figure that?"

He took a few steps closer to Dawn, the knife illuminating the semi-darkness of the room.

"I swear to God if you hurt her, you will pay for it." I breathed furiously.

"Buffy, he forced me to tell him everything about…what happened. With Glory and the portal. He knows that I'm the key." Dawn yelled.

"Shut up you little whore!" he yelled.

Before I knew what had happened, he had sliced the knife into her side.

Rage overtook me. I ran up to him but before I could grab him, I felt hands on my back, pulling me away. I landed hard against the wall. I looked up and saw that Eric had the Reverend in a very tight throat grip, with his fangs extended.

The bloody knife clinked to the floor with a piercing metal-on-concrete thud.

I scrambled up off of the floor and ran over to the wall where Dawn and the blonde girl were. I ripped the chains out of the wall, freeing the blonde girl first. She wasn't as hurt as Dawn was and she was able to hold herself up.

I ripped the chains that were holding Dawn up out of the wall and grabbed onto her, steadying her up as straight as she could stand it.

I heard a loud yell and looked over to see Eric slumping to the ground, writhing in agony.

The Reverend fell to the ground, from being in Eric's tight grip. He scrambled into the darkness and came back out with a large gun.

"Wooden bullets are some of mankind's greatest inventions. Don't you agree?" he said, aiming the gun at Eric.

I looked over to the blonde girl. "You are Hadley?"

"Yes, I am Hadley."

"Can you hang onto Dawn? Are you strong enough?"

Without answering, she took Dawn from my arms and scurried off to hide themselves in a dark corner.

I walked over and did a flying kick, landing my foot right to the Reverend's face. He fell over and the gun clanked to the floor.

I knelt down to see what was wrong with Eric. When I did, I noticed two large silver chains had been wrapped around his wrists.

His fangs were extended and I could hear his flesh sizzling, much like when I had shoved the silver cross into his chest.

I worked quickly, trying to untangle the silver chains around his wrist. Getting fed up with the knot, I eventually just ripped through the chains themselves.

"This is probably going to hurt, just so you know." I said.

He just nodded, the pain apparently too much for him to bear.

I ripped the chains off in a single pull. He howled loudly.

I yelled suddenly, feeling a sharp pain going through my arm.

I looked over and noticed the large knife sticking out of my arm, with my blood rapidly pouring out around it.

Before I could do anything, Eric leapt up and grabbed the Reverend by the throat once again. He threw him against the farthest wall, shattering a few things on his way. Eric sped over to him and knelt down, holding the Reverend firmly in place.

I had the feeling that if I didn't get over there and stop him, Eric was about to do something really stupid.

I yanked the knife out of my arm, with only a small cry of pain, and ran over to Eric.

"You can't kill him."

"Says who?" he hissed.

"Me."

"Buffy, If I don't kill him, he'll just gather up more of his ludicrous 'soldiers' and come after us. All of us."

"Eric, if you kill him, you'll start a war. A war I'm not sure you could win. A war I'm not sure _I_ could win."

He thought for a moment before rolling his eyes in frustration. He released his grip on the Reverend and stood up. The Reverend tried to stand up but Eric put his foot on his throat and stepped down.

"While I have you at full attention, Reverend, I suggest you listen up. Apparently tonight is your lucky night. Buffy is right. I can't kill you. As much as I would love to. As much as I would revel in the sheer joy of it, I can't. Here is where you really need to pay attention. You are not to come near Buffy, her family, her friends. You're not to come near my Queen and you're certainly not to come near me, under any circumstances. You're going to stay put here in Dallas. I swear if I see you…even just a mere _assumption_ of you stepping foot in Louisiana or California, I will personally find you, rip your throat out and feed it to the mangy stray dogs that hang around my bar. Do I make myself clear?"

The Reverend nodded slightly.

Eric took his foot off of his throat. "Good."

The Reverend tried to get up, but Eric punched him hard, knocking him out.

"At least I could get some satisfaction from that." 

* * *

Dawn and I sat at a table in Fangtasia. She was quietly eating and I was quietly staring at her. Realizing how much I loved her and how much I missed her.

"Stare much, freak?" she said.

I laughed. "Feeling better then I take it?"

She smiled. "Yeah. I am. Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"What in the hell took you so freakin' long?"

I laughed again. "Well, I had to deal with some things first." I nodded over to Eric, who was talking quietly with Sophie-Anne and Hadley on the other side of the bar.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll explain on the plane ride home. Now it's my turn."

"Ask away."

"What in the hell did you do to piss that Reverend off?"

She looked down at her basket of french-fries.

"Dawn, I'm waiting…"

"I was out on the porch with the Buffy-bot one night. He came up and asked you…her…if she was the Slayer. She rambled off this long ridiculous answer that basically said 'yes.' He asked her to join his crusade or whatever. She had no idea what he was talking about so she just related to the first word she could, which was 'join.' She answered something about joining a gym…and it all gets kind of hazy from there."

I couldn't help but start laughing. "A gym? What?"

Dawn smiled and started laughing a bit too. "I may have tossed out a few…insults…too. He started saying all this stupid stuff about all vampires being evil and bad and out to murder families and blah blah blah."

"Dawn, most vampires are evil and would murder a family." I interjected.

"Well, yeah, I know that, but all I did was point out that there were a few vampires that I knew that were good. And not evil anymore. And he flipped out. Saying that we would curse the day that we made a fool of him. I said 'You made a fool of yourself. And I know two great witches that could out curse you any day.' And then he stormed off. Complete over-reaction."

"And what happened when you were taken?" I prodded.

"Well, you had just left to go patrolling. Xander and Anya and I were watching tv. I walked into the kitchen to get a drink. I thought I heard something outside, so I just opened the door and peeked out really quick…but as soon as I put one foot out the door, I was grabbed. I managed to scream, but by the time Xander and Anya had gotten to the kitchen they had taken me."

I reached over and hugged her tightly. "I promised Mom that I would protect you and I will. I promise."

I felt Eric standing behind me. I released Dawn and turned to him.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Well, Sophie-Anne is very grateful to you and she would like me to convey her extreme apologies for having Dawn kidnapped."

"That wasn't scripted or anything." Dawn snorted.

"And she's back to herself. In record time, no less." I said, mockingly.

"Are you two ready? Would you like a ride to the airport?" Eric asked.

"Yes and no. It's almost morning. You should get some rest."

He smiled. "If you wish so. However, I do insist on paying your cab fare." He turned and looked at Dawn. "Dawn, if you'll go with Pam, she'll help you get all your sister's stuff pulled down from her room."

Dawn looked at me, incredulously.

I rolled my eyes. "Dawn, just go."

"I know, I know. 'Dawn, get out of sight. We want smoochies.' Just come get me when you're done." she said, following Pam out of the bar.

Eric grinned. "You want smoochies, huh?"

I glared at him. "Shut up."

He was still grinning. "That's not an answer."

I glared harder.

"Okay okay. No smoochies." he said, playfully.

"Thank you."

"So…I was thinking-"

"Kind of a stretch for you." I said, mockingly.

"I was thinking that perhaps if you didn't want to go home right away…I do have a job opening here. For a dancer." he grinned, wickedly.

I laughed, kind of coldly. "Yeah, as tempting as that does sound, no thanks. I think I should probably go see the catastrophic state my Hellmouth is in."

He turned his grin down to a normal smile. "On a more serious note, Buffy, I do have a question for you."

"What?"

"Let's just say that perhaps I was in need of a vacation from…well, all this, would it be alright if I-"

I smiled. "You can come visit anytime you want. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take my sister and get home."

He pulled out his wallet and handed me some cash. Way too much for a cab fare.

"Do you have big plans for when you get home?" he asked, nonchalantly.

I thought for a moment and quickly remembered the date.

"Well, Halloween is next week…..." 

* * *

**A/N:** While it appears that this story is over...oh, it's so not. Stay tuned! =)


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N:**A large part of this chapter, and the next chapter, will have direct quotes from "Seeing Red" and "Villians". Once again, I do not own Buffy. Joss does. (*Sigh*) Eric's appearance in the next couple of chapters may seem small and trivial, but I assure you, in chapters to come it will be useful!

I've put an asterix at the end of each set of quotes to mark it. Also, they are more than likely not the exact way that the scenes in question were portrayed in the episode. I am aware. I had a bit of trouble remembering each little quirk of how everyone acted and moved so I had to improvise a little bit.

Hmm, I guess I should've written this chapter when I had the season six dvds a couple of weeks ago, eh?

But I digress….

On with the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

_**(Buffy)**_

I walked into my house after a rather long and horrible day. Well, series of days. I didn't want to be fighting nerds. I most definitely didn't want to see Spike and Anya…in action. I especially didn't want to fight with Xander but he just wouldn't listen to me.

That plus the hell-ish patrol I just had plus the events of last night…wow.

And come to think, a few months ago, I thought that my life just couldn't get any worse.

Boy was I wrong on an epic scale.

"Hello? Anyone home?" I yelled.

No answer.

The mom-half of my brain started going into worry overdrive until I quickly remembered about Dawn going over to her friend's house.

I shrugged out of my coat and trudged up the stairs, slowly.

Said hell-ish patrol had been particularly hard on my body. Toss in the acrobatics I had performed earlier in the 'Lair of the Nerds' and I was one sore Buffy.

At this small, meaningless moment in time, there was nothing I wanted more than a warm, comforting bath to soothe my particularly aching back.

As I walked towards my room I noticed that Willow's door was shut.

I smiled at the thought of her and Tara rekindling their relationship. Good for them.

It was reassuring to know that love still worked for some people.

Even if I wasn't one of them.

I peeled off my icky clothes and tied my gray bathrobe around me.

I slipped quietly down the hall, to the bathroom, and shut the door behind me.

I turned on the water, hoping it would warm up fast. Not only was my body in need of relaxation, but my mind was too.

Everything that had been going on….well, it was just beginning to be too much. Throw in the events of Spike and Anya from last night…

I shook my head trying to get rid of the mental image.

A voice made me look up.

"I'm sorry. Not that it matters anymore…but I need you to know that." Spike said, quietly, standing by the bathroom door.

I pulled my bathrobe tighter around my body and folded my arms across my chest.

"Why?" I asked, just as quiet.

"Because I care about you."

"Then you might want to try the not sleeping with my friends." I seethed.

"I didn't go to Anya for that. I was looking for a spell."

"You were going to use a spell on me?"

"It wasn't for you! I wanted something! Anything to make these feelings stop. I just wanted it to stop!"

I didn't respond.

"You should have let him kill me." he added, speaking about Xander almost staking him the night before.

"I couldn't do that."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"Because you love me."

"No. I don't."

"Why do you keep lying to yourself?"

"How many times do-I have feelings for you. I do. But it's not love. I could never trust you enough for it to be love."

"Trust is for old marrieds, Buffy. Great love is wild and passionate and dangerous. It burns and consumes."

"Until there's nothing left. Love like that doesn't last."

Spike's eyes filled with a dangerous lust. A lust that told me he was probably about to do something incredibly stupid.

I backed away a few steps as he advanced towards me.

I wasn't sure of what he was going to do, but I was sure that with my weakened body, it was going to be hard to fight him off, if I had to.

He grabbed me and tried to wrestle my bathrobe off.

"I'll make you feel it."

I tried pushing him off of me, but I was too weak. We crashed to the floor. Spike leaned over me, using half of his strength to hold me down and the other half trying to get my bathrobe off.

"STOP!" I yelled, as tears leaked out of my eyes and down my face.

I put my hands up to his chest and pushed, barely managing to shove him off of me.

A horrified look dawned upon his face.

He stood and backed up, towards the window, while I stayed huddled on the floor.

"Ask me again why I could never love you." I seethed through hot tears, my voice shaking with anger.

"Oh God. Buffy…I didn't-"

"Because I stopped you. Something I should have done a long time ago."

He stood silent and still for a moment, staring in awe at what he had almost done. What I had almost let him do. Then, without warning, he jumped out of the bathroom window.

I stayed where I was for, well, I'm not sure how long.

I looked up to see Xander standing in the doorway. After our argument earlier, he really wasn't the person I wanted to see.

No, the person I found myself wanting to be near…well, he was back in Louisiana.

Xander held up Spike's coat. The sight of it made me want to vomit on the spot.

He had betrayal painted all across his face.

"Is this what you call not seeing Spike anymore?"

I attempted at trying to move my robe to cover the large bruise that Spike had left on my thigh, but I wasn't quick enough.

The look of betrayal on Xander's face quickly changed to one of hatred. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't towards me.

He walked fully into the bathroom and bent down so he was at eye level with me.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you?"

"He tried. He didn't…" I said, my voice shaking.

He stood up and started towards the door.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Don't. Please, just don't…"* I begged through quiet tears.

I was the Slayer and it was the Slayer's duty to be strong. To carry the burdens the rest couldn't.

This was one of those times. That's exactly what I was going to do.

It was mere seconds later that Willow and Tara came rushing up behind Xander. Saying that they had found out a major plan from the geek squad.

Hitting up an armored truck for boatloads of cash.

Wow, original.

I shook my head. "Okay, well, I'll just skip my nice relaxing bath, get dressed and go kick a little nerd ass." I said, carefully standing up.

"Buffy, be careful. Warren's a bit stronger than the last time you saw him. I don't know how…but he is. I saw him when at the bar. That's what I came here to tell you." Xander warned.

"So I don't have to hold back. Sounds perfect to me."

* * *

My foray into beating the pulp out of the geek squad was semi-successful. Warren had used magical orbs to endow his power and thanks to Jonathon pretending to attack me, I learned to smash them.

Seriously, I swear these idiots didn't have an original bone in their body.

Warren got away, but the other two losers got arrested.

I wasn't too worried about Warren getting away. I'd catch him. Or else the police would.

Either way.

"Who the hell has a jet pack anyway?" I mumbled out loud, to myself. "Oh, right. Nerds."

I turned the corner onto my street and instantly felt a pull. A pull I hadn't felt in months.

I ran as fast as I could to my house, arriving in seconds.

When I got inside, I found Willow, Tara and a guest sitting in the living room.

I gazed at him. Could it be true? Could he really be sitting here, in my house, at the time I thought I needed him the most?

He stood up as soon as he saw me enter. He smiled , small at first, and then it grew. He was clearly relieved about something.

"Buffy…you're alright." he said, coming forward.

I stared silently for another few minutes.

I barely registered sound.

"I think I'll run upstairs and get that phone that neither of you can hear ringing." Willow said.

"Yeah, I'll help you with that." Tara added, with a smile.

We just stood there, staring at each other.

"Buffy, you are okay, right?"

I shook my head. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just…"

"Surprised?" he smiled.

"Yeah, you could say surprised. What are you doing here, Eric?"

He took me by the hand. "Come, let's sit. We have much to talk about."

* * *

We had been sitting on the couch for a few hours now, talking.

I had told him all about the geek squad, Willow's magical addiction, the gang's foray into Broadway, Tara leaving Willow, Giles leaving me, my super awesome job, Riley's great return and Xander and Anya's non-existent wedding. Oh, and the part where I, apparently, was actually a psycho in a mental ward.

I tried to leave off everything about Spike, but he wasn't buying it.

"You're not telling me everything, Buffy." he stated, plainly.

I ignored him.

"So, Eric, by the look on your face when I came into the house….I would say that your visit is nothing to do with a vacation."

He looked at me, very clearly annoyed.

"I'll tell you. But only if you tell me what you're hiding." he said.

I sat silent for a moment, before ignoring him, yet again.

"Wow, I could sure use a snack. Beating up nerds all day apparently takes a lot out of a Slayer."

I stood up and walked into the kitchen and started rifling through the cupboards.

Eric followed me, of course, still very annoyed.

Even though my back was to him, I didn't need to see his face to tell me that. I could feel it mega thanks to our nifty little blood bond.

"Buffy…"

I slammed the cupboard door closed and put my head into my hand, trying to rub away the massive headache that was starting to form.

"I slept with Spike." I said, quietly.

I felt the confusion that he felt.

"Well, I figured that." he said.

"How in the hell did you-"

"His scent is all over you."

"Has anyone ever told you how gross that scent thing is?"

"Yes, numerous times. Continue."

"He loves me. To the point of delusion. Last year, he had one of these nerds build a damn robot of me. Don't get me wrong, I mean, it was disgusting and obscene, but the robot herself, she came in handy the several times we've needed her."

"Do you love him?"

"No." I answered immediately.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. I'm very sure. I could never love him. I don't trust him nearly enough. Not after the way I let him treat me. The way I let him make me feel…"

"You trust him enough to leave Dawn with him."

"I'm not even going to question how you know that. I let her stay with him because she feels safe there. I also know that he would never let anything happen to her. He cares about her just as much as the rest of us."

Eric stood silent. I turned around and faced him.

"Last night, Willow had her computer set up, trying to decipher some the geek squad's stuff that I found when I infiltrated their… 'lair'. Long story short, she tapped into some of their security cameras and we all got a great show of Spike and Anya-full on, no clothes barred-in the Magic Box. Xander ran off and almost killed Spike. I…I felt jealousy over it. Mega jealousy. Over him. That disgusting, bleach blonde bug. We were nowhere near dating, mind you. And I broke off our sexual relationship after Riley came. But I still felt jealousy. And then the jealousy feeling led to shame. I hid our relationship for the whole time. The only person that knew was Tara and that was just a little bit ago that I told her. And then today, I went to talk to Xander about everything and…it just turned into this huge fight. And I had a horrible patrol tonight. And then when I came home…all I wanted was to just take a bath and relax but Spike…"

I stopped when I realized what I was about to say.

"But Spike what? What, Buffy?" Eric asked.

I swallowed hard. "Nothing. I just couldn't get everything off of my mind." I lied quietly.

He came up to me and grabbed my bruised thigh.

I let out a painful shriek.

"What the hell?"

"I trust you and I expect the same. I also expect you not to lie to me. Tell me what happened." he said.

"How did you know to grab my leg?" I asked, quietly.

"Willow and Tara mentioned it to me. They said that when they came in you and Xander were acting…different. And you had some fresh looking mark ups that they didn't think came from patrolling."

I thought it over for a moment, just a moment, before speaking.

"What I am about to tell you never leaves this room. It stays between you, me and Xander. Got it?"

He nodded.

I continued on and told him about my rather unpleasant encounter with Spike in the bathroom.

I could feel his seething anger rising to the top. Anger mixed with automatic hate and…something else I couldn't quite pinpoint due to the extreme anger plus hate mixture.

"Where did he go?" he asked. His voice was low and full of revulsion.

"I don't know." I replied honestly. "Back to his crypt, I suppose."

Eric started for the door. I actually beat him there and stood in his way.

"Buffy, what is this? What are you doing?"

"You're not going after him." I stated.

"He tried to rape you. He has to pay." he growled.

"And he will. But it will be from me. Not from Xander. Not from you. From me."

Eric stood angrily for another few moments before standing down.

"Fine. I won't go after him. But it's only because you've asked me not to."

A thought occurred to me.

"When did you get into town?"

"Right before you walked in the door. I had only been sitting down with Willow and Tara for a few minutes. Why?"

"You said that, with the blood bonds, you'd be able to feel what I was feeling. Did you?"

"Yes. I did. Frustration. Anger. Fear. I felt it all. You mentioned the look on my face when I saw you…it was because I felt that." he answered.

"You still haven't told me why you're here."

"A seer came into Fangtasia. She sought me out. I don't generally care for seers too much, but she intrigued me, to say the least. She asked me if I knew of a place called Sunnydale, in California. I told her yes, I knew of it. She asked me if I knew of the Slayer. Again, I said yes. She said, and I quote, 'You know her personally. She has been here. In your bar. In your house, even.' I told her to spit it out. And she did."

"Eric, it's been a _really_ long week. If you really just came all the way from Louisiana to Sunnydale to tell me about some seer knowing who I am and that I was in your house…"

"She foretold of death."

My attention stood straight. I could feel the color draining out of my skin. My thoughts immediately jolted to Dawn.

"D-Did she say who?" I stammered.

"No. She just foretold of death, pain, heartbreak and something about good gone evil. I don't know what that part is about."

I stood quiet, thinking.

"I wish I could give you more to go on." he added.

"Well, the guide-thingy did say that death was my gift."

He pulled me into a tight hug. I don't know if it was the blood bond or the fact that I was feeling really vulnerable, but I accepted the hug. I buried my head in his shoulder and I felt tears start to run down my face.

"Are you crying?"

"….No." I lied.

"Buffy…"

"It's just that everything has been so messed up since I came back. Everything I told you about. I completely screwed up Dawn's life without even thinking. She turned into a complete klepto. I miss Giles so much. I hate that he left me. He left me all alone to take care of all this stuff and I don't even know what I'm doing half the time." I rambled out.

He brushed his cold hands through my hair and hugged me tight.

After a moment, he pulled off of his shoulder, but still kept me in his arms. He put his hands on the sides of my face.

"Buffy, you're doing as good a job as you can with what you have. Life isn't always a peach, sweetheart."

I smiled a small half smile even though I still had tears running down my face.

"What?" he asked.

"You're a thousand year old vampire with a reputation that quadruples that of Angelus, the Scourge of Europe. And you just referenced life to that of a peach." I said, starting to giggle a little.

He smiled wide. "Yes, I guess I did."

I completely lost it and started to laugh uncontrollably, as did Eric.

After several minutes of laughing until my sides hurt, I realized that I was still in Eric's arms. I tried to disentangle myself, but he held me in place.

"Eric, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Something I should've done months ago."

He pulled my face to his and kissed me.

* * *

_**(The next day)**_

It was mid-afternoon that I found myself outside, poking around the back yard. Eric was asleep in the basement. After our little smooch-a-thon, I insisted that he stay. I figured it was the least I could do. I didn't get much sleep throughout the night. I laid awake thinking about the fact that Eric had in fact kissed me. In doing that, he had made things more complicated but at the same time…so much easier.

As I continued poking around with my stick, a voice startled me out of my thoughts.

"Time for the spring poking already?"

I turned and saw Xander standing behind me.

"Just making sure there's no more Evil Trio cameras. Or Evil Uno." I replied.

"The sinister, yet addictive card game?"

"Warren. Jonathon and Andrew got clinked, but Warren pulled a Rocket Man. It was a thing."

He walked up closer to me.

"I thought I'd hit bottom but…it hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. It hurt."

"I'm sorry. I should've told you."

"Maybe you would have if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it."

"Guess we've all done a lot of things lately that we're not proud of."

Xander smiled.

"I think I've got you beat."

"Wanna compare?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Not so much. I don't know what I'd do without you and Will."

"Let's not find out. I love you. You know that, right?"*

Xander reached over and hugged me tightly. I accepted and hugged him back, just as tight.

Suddenly, I felt Xander's entire body go rigid.

"Xander, what's wrong?" I asked.

I released from the hug and turned around to see Warren stalking through the backyard, holding something unidentifiable in his hand.

"You think you could just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?"

He laughed, maniacally. "Think again."*

He raised his hand and before I even knew what was happening, I heard a loud pop and felt immense pain in my chest. I heard several more loud pops as I fell to the ground. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Xander frantically yelling over the top of me.


	11. Chapter Ten

**A/N: **Once again, there are some direct quotes in here from a mixture of episodes. I forgot which ones exactly as I never bothered to write down which quotes went with which episode, but I want to say they are from "Seeing Red"...possibly "Villians" and "Grave". I cannot stress enough on how much I don't own Buffy or True Blood. But oh, if I did...*sigh.*

****

Chapter Ten

_**(Eric)**_

I awoke violently.

There was a sharp, violent pain coursing through my chest, towards the left side. If I hadn't of known better, I would have sworn that I was being staked.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the cot Buffy let me use. The feelings I was getting were confusing. Well, except for the pain. It was persistent and obnoxious. I sat for nearly ten minutes before I realized that it was still daylight out. Something didn't seem right at all.

I got to my feet and got dressed quickly before realizing that I couldn't actually go upstairs and see what was going on, on account of the sun.

I paced the floor a bit. As I got closer to one side of the basement, I heard voices talking outside.

"I thought I'd hit bottom but…it hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. It hurt."

"I'm sorry. I should've told you."

"Maybe you would have if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it."

"Guess we've all done a lot of things lately that we're not proud of."

"I think I've got you beat."

"Wanna compare?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Not so much. I don't know what I'd do without you and Will."

"Let's not find out. I love you. You know that, right?"*

Listening to Buffy and Xander make up was nice. It honestly didn't mean a thing to me but it made Buffy happy and that's all I wanted.

Suddenly, the intense pain in my shoulder that had woken flared up again. I felt anger. Raging anger. And it wasn't Buffy's.

I heard five distinct 'pops' and felt the pain even worse now as it knocked me straight to the floor.

Anger, sadness, frustration, worry…

Then I heard Xander's voice once again.

"Oh God! Buffy! Please don't die…please…just hang on. Buffy!"

* * *

It had been an hour, maybe two since the ambulance had left. I was lying on the floor, still in pain. Feeling all the fear and sadness. Emptiness.

I had felt Buffy die.

I stayed on the ground, with my traitorous bloody tears falling.

Then a new feeling hit me. It was…life. Just as quickly as I had felt her die within me, I felt her come back.

I sat up, wiped my blood stained tears away, and sat in contemplation. I had clearly felt her death. I could smell death all around. And yet, I knew that she was alive.

It was horrible not knowing what was going on.

It was then that I had heard a loud scream coming from upstairs. I suddenly cared nothing about the daytime. I ran up towards the screams as fast as I could and before I knew it, I was standing in the doorway of Willow's bedroom.

I smelled death, anger and blood all over. And power. Oh, yes definitely power.

I turned and saw Dawn huddled in a dark corner, sobbing. I softened my features and sat down next to her.

"W-What happened?" she stammered.

"I don't know. We shouldn't be up here. _You _shouldn't be up here." I said.

"Tara shouldn't be alone. We aren't, so she shouldn't be either." she said softly.

"Where's Buffy? Willow?" she asked when I didn't answer.

I hesitated. I didn't want to tell her. She had already seen more than her share.

"I don't know. I was downstairs, in the basement."

"Oh, right. 'Cause of the whole sun thing."

"You're right, Dawn. Tara shouldn't be alone."

* * *

_**(Buffy)**_

Have you ever had one of those days that just gets progressively worse by the minute?

Well, that's how the last _three _of my days have been.

Xander and I rushed into my house. We had just witnessed a newly black-haired-all-powerful-fueled-by-vengeance Willow stop an entire bus in the middle of a deserted road and squeeze the life out of a Warren-bot.

"You know Buffy, if she hadn't of pulled the bullet out…"

"I know, Xander, I know. And I'll be grateful _after_I stop her from committing murder."

We rushed up the stairs to Willow's bedroom.

Tara was sprawled out on the floor, dead, just like Willow had said.

"Where have you been?"

Xander and I turned around to see Eric and Dawn sitting in the corner of the room.

"Dawn! What are you doing up here? Eric, how could you let her see this?" I yelled.

"Buffy, he didn't. I walked home from school. I came upstairs to see why no one was answering me. I saw Tara…and screamed and that's when Eric raced up here. He tried to get me to leave but…I couldn't. I thought that she shouldn't be alone." Dawn sobbed.

I hugged her tightly. "Let's go downstairs, Dawnie. You don't need to see any more of this."

I set Dawn on the couch while Xander called the coroner's office. Eric pulled me aside, into the kitchen.

"Buffy, what happened?"

I knew that I was going to have to tell him. He undoubtedly had already felt it.

"Xander and I were in the backyard. He apologized. Warren, one of the nerds I was telling you about, he came walking right into the yard. He shot me. And fired off several more shots as he was running away. I'm assuming that's how Tara got hit."

"Right here" he said, touching the spot on my chest where Willow had removed the bullet. "You were shot right here, right next to your heart. What happened? How are you alive? I felt you die."

"Willow. She came into the hospital and….removed the bullet. Magically. I just happened to have flat-lined a second before she did. Speaking of Willow…"

"What about Willow?" Dawn asked, entering the kitchen.

I looked in horror. "Dawn, what did you hear?"

"Everything. Were you going to tell me that you died? What's wrong with Willow?"

"I only died for a second. And Willow…."

"Willow's gone homicidal, not that I blame her." Anya said, walking into the house.

"Anya, what are you doing here? How do you know…?" Xander questioned.

"She paid me a little visit at the Magic Box. She's all black-haired and veiny now."

We all rushed over to her. "Are you okay? What did she do?"

"I'm fine, but the shop is in shambles. She came in and sucked all the magic out of the dark books."

"I don't know a lot about magic, but I know that that's not good." Eric said.

I started to pace around. "We have to catch up to her. We have to stop her before she gets to Warren."

"Why?" Anya asked.

"Because she's going to kill him."

"Well, I mean, he kind of, no, not kind of. He completely deserves it, Buff. He killed Tara. And he almost killed you." Xander agreed.

"Xander and Anya are right, Buffy. Warren deserves to die." Dawn said, low.

"I can't let a human die. It's against everything that being a Slayer is." I argued.

"Buffy, he almost killed you." Xander said again.

"I'm aware of that. And he will be punished for everything that he has done. But not by Willow. Not by us. We can't let Willow take a human life. It will destroy her."

"She's a tough girl." Xander countered.

"And you _are_the Slayer." Anya said.

"Yes, and if Warren was an actual demon, I'd have no problem killing him. But he's not. He's human."

"Buffy—" Eric started.

"Just because I'm the Slayer, that doesn't give me special rights and privileges. I don't get to decide who lives and who dies. Who goes to jail and who roams free. That's the reason that they have courts and systems. And I promise he'll go to jail. And it'll be for a long time." I said.

"Fine. Let's go." Xander said.

"I want to go too." Dawn said.

"Absolutely not." I retorted.

"But—"

"No." I said firmly. "You can go to Spike's."

Xander and Eric's eyes gleamed over with hate.

"Buffy! You're going to let her—"

"Xander, not now. She feels safe there. He won't harm her." I said, walking out the door, with Dawn in tow.

* * *

It was daylight out now. Daylight after an increasing bad night.

We didn't get to Willow on time. We failed. She murdered Warren.

And when I say murdered...I mean she flayed him.

After that little incident, her and I had an all out fight in the Magic Box. She almost had me, and Eric for that matter, but like the savior that he is, Giles burst in at the last minute, saving our hides.

Somehow, I'm not sure how, but somehow, from there, Willow decided that she needed to send the world to Hell.

Which leads to the current predictament.

Dawn, Eric and I were stuck deep down in a hole, in the cemetery. Dawn and I were desperately trying to find a way out, while Eric was desperately trying to find a way to stay out of direct light.

The ground started to shake violently.

"I'm having enough trouble staying out of direct light as it is so of course an earthquake would happen right now." Eric mumbled. Blood had started to run down his face.

I rushed over to him. "Eric! Are you okay?"

He looked at me, confused for a moment.

"You're bleeding all over the place." Dawn clarified.

He reached up and wiped the blood from his face.

"I need to get underground. Fast." He said.

The earth shook again, more violent than before, causing Dawn to crash down into me.

While we were trying to get back to our feet, I noticed something moving in the sides of the dirt wall.

"I don't think it's an earthquake. I think Willow sent us some visitors."

Suddenly, a bunch of tree-root-demon-things started to come out from the dirt, complete with weaponry. I grabbed my sword and swung at the tree root demons, killing the first few easy. I looked over, expecting to see Dawn needing help, but to my extreme surprise, she was holding her own very well. She had extracted a smaller sword from one of the tree demons and was using it very well.

I looked past her and noticed that they were starting to head for Eric. I leapt through the middle and landed in front of him, crouching protectively.

"If you want him, you're going to have to go through me first." I growled.

They attacked and I thwarted them off, two and three at a time. I glanced over and saw that Dawn was still holding her own.

"You're doing great, Dawn!" I yelled.

We fought with the tree demons until they disappeared, just as quickly as they arrived.

It was then that I realized that the world was not going to end. Xander had made it to Willow in time. Xander had saved the world. _Xander_.

Dawn's face lit up with the realization as well and we both shared an ecstatic smile.

"It's over. The world isn't ending." She said, happily.

I burst out into tears.

Dawn lost her smile quickly.

"I'm sorry to disappoint...wait, is that happy crying?" she said.

"Yes, dummy. You think I wanted the world to end?" I responded.

"I don't know. Didn't you?"*

"No! Of course not, silly! Why would I want the world to end?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, it's just…after every thing that's happened the last few months…well, you said it yourself. It 's been too hard for you to just be here."

"Dawn, I'm going to say this as nicely as possible. Don't be an idiot. She's been having a rough time adjusting, yeah, sure. Anyone who's come back from the dead can tell you it's not easy. But she loves you. Do you think she would have flown all the way to Louisiana to track you down if she didn't?" Eric huffed, painfully.

I pulled Dawn into a tight hug. "He's right. I know I've been kind of a downer but I've been working on it. A lot. I just worry so much about you. I guess after everything last year with Glory, I just…I want to protect you so much that I forget that you're growing up." I said.

"I am. I'm not a little girl anymore, Buffy. I can help. I want to help. And if you want to protect me, you should train me. I only want to learn from the best."

**"**You're right. You're absolutely right." I said. "I don't want to protect you from the world. I want to show it to you."*

Dawn released me from our tight hug. "Buffy…I think we should get Eric somewhere dark. He's not looking so good."

I turned to look at him and she was completely right. He was a bloody mess. Blood was dripping out from his skin…well, everywhere. I hurried over to him.

"Eric? What do you need me to do?" I asked, softly. I wiped his blood-stained blonde hair out of his crystal blue eyes.

"Bury. Me." He whispered.

"Huh?"

"He said to bury him." Dawn said.

"Well, yeah, I heard that. I just don't understand."

"Bury. Me." He repeated, even softer.

Understanding lit across Dawn's face.

"I get it! He said he needed to get underground. As in, bury him in the ground."

"I don't think…"

Eric nodded his head as best as he could in his extreme weakened state.

"Buffy? Dawn? Are you guys down there? Are you okay?" Xander called down.

"Xander, we're fine but Eric's not…the daylight…it's weakening him. Bad." Dawn yelled up.

"What do we do? We can't drag him out of the hole into direct daytime." Xander called down.

"Find me a shovel!" I yelled up.

"A shovel? What for?" Xander yelled.

"Just do it! And quick!" Dawn yelled back.

A few minutes later and Xander was back.

"Shovel, coming down!" he yelled as he tossed it down. "Ladder's coming next!"

I ran over and grabbed the shovel and dug as fast as I could.

"Dawn, climb up that ladder and go with Xander. I'll be along after." I said, quietly.

"But, Buffy—"

"Dawn, please. Just trust me." I said.

She nodded her head and climbed up the ladder, giving Xander my message.

I went back over and sat down next to Eric, who was losing more blood by the second.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

He nodded and I helped him stand up, avoiding the sun rays that were now shining down.

I helped him lay himself into the hole and I kneeled down beside him. I took my jacket off and rolled up my sleeve.

"If you feed, you'll heal faster." I said, nudging my wrist up next to his mouth.

"Are you sure?" he croaked.

"Yes. You don't get to lay a kiss like that on me and then shrivel up into the sun." I smiled.

He smiled back and sunk his fangs into my wrist.

It was about midnight-ish, give or take. I was sitting on my back porch with a much healthier looking Eric.

"So you really have to go back, huh?" I asked.

"Sadly, yes. I do have duties to fulfill. Sheriff and all." He responded.

"Phooey."

He raised an eyebrow.

"It's an expression us humans use occasionally." I responded, in my natural Buffy-way.

He smiled his wide, gorgeous smile and kissed me on the forehead.

"I'm going to miss you." I said, seriously.

"I'll miss you as well. There's no chance of you coming with me?" he asked.

"Not with a full-on acting Hellmouth." I said, sadly.

"I should go if I want to make it to Shreveport before sunrise." He said, gloomily.

"Okay." I answered, simply.

We stood up and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into a long, deep kiss. It was the kind of kiss that one would wish to go on forever. And ever. And possibly even after that.

After a few minutes, we parted, mostly on my account of needing air.

"So, you have to go?" I asked.

"Mhmm" was all he answered, arms still wrapped around me.

I stretched up and kissed him again. After another few moments, we broke apart.

"Okay, I really should go." He smiled.

"Ooookkkaaayyyy." I said, smiling back. I broke from his hold.

"Visit me soon?" he asked.

"As soon as the Hellmouth sends me a break, I will." I promised.

He turned and started to walk away, but he stopped mid-step and turned back towards me.

"Oh, Buffy, I almost forgot. I really like your hair."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**A/N:**Sorry about the delay! Life intervened but it's getting back on track…hopefully, anyway.

This is just a little chapter to tie up loose ends. I'm marking it as complete at the end….but that doesn't really mean anything. I feel that it will be left in a wonderful place. A place that, if I choose to in the future, I will be able to pick up and go on with it. =) Huge thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed! I greatly appreciate it!

**Chapter Eleven**

_**(Eric)**_

"Mr. Northman, are you listening to me?"

I nodded my head. "I've heard every single word you've said, Ms. Flanagan."

"Well, your disposition would seem to differ, if you don't mind me saying so."

"I do mind." I stated, flatly.

"I've been told by my closest confidants that just over a year ago you were entertaining the Slayer. Here, in your very office."

"Yes, what of it?"

"Mr. Northman, need I remind you that she is a vampire killer?"

I stood up and started to pace around my office.

"No, you do not. However, what I do with my life is none of your concern."

"As the public face and voice for our race, your life is my concern. Especially when you are roaming about with the likes of her. Have you any idea how many vampires her kind has killed over the last thousand years?"

"I'm well aware of it. Why exactly are you here, Ms. Flanagan?"

"As you know, one of my personal assistants went missing last year. A very trusted assistant."

"Yes, I recall. But what does that have to do with me?"

"As I previously stated, I was told that you were entertaining the Slayer last year. It's funny that one of my staff would go missing right around the time that she was here, is it not?"

"Funny? No, I've seen funnier. I've definitely seen funnier." I smiled.

"Mr. Northman! This is not a time for making jokes!"

"You've yet to tell me why you are here."

"Mr. Northman, please do not take me for an idiot. I know that you keep in contact with the Slayer."

"Says who?"

"I've had my eye on your establishment for quite some time. About six months after the Slayer left, you went running off for a few days. Where to?"

"Am I not allowed to take a vacation?"

"I have sources that saw you in the former town of Sunnydale. In California. Which just so happens to be where the Slayer was based."

"What can I say? After a thousand years of being so…pale and white, I thought I should get a tan."

"Mr. Northman!"

"Besides, Sunnydale is no longer a part of California, thanks to the giant earthquake that ruptured and sunk the town."

"Which was undoubtedly caused by the Slayer."

"Well now that's just assuming. And you know what they say about assuming, don't you Ms. Flanagan?"

"Mr. Northman, I don't doubt that you've noticed the odd things going on."

"Odd things?" I questioned. "We are the odd things."

"Ever since that… 'earthquake'…well, there's definitely been something going on. Infact, as I was driving here, I saw a young girl, no older than fourteen years old—"

"You didn't eat her, did you? That's jailbait." I smirked.

"She was a little bit busy fighting off three vampires."

I opened my mouth to respond but I was quickly hushed by the sounds of yelling, fighting and metal crushing throughout the bar.

"What is going on out there?" Nan asked, standing up.

I grinned wide. "It sounds like my girlfriend is here for a visit. And it sounds like your staff isn't doing so well."

The door to my office burst open and there she stood. Like a strong, beautiful, blonde Goddess.

Her hair was longer than the last time I had seen her, over the summer. She had just a little bit of fringe that fell slightly above her green, green eyes. She was wearing an aqua colored top, dark, tight jeans, a three-quarter sleeve black leather jacket and black spiked boots.

She held a red and silver axe in her hands. Well, not just an axe. It was fashioned with a wooden stake at the end. I recognized it immediately. The true weapon of the Slayer.

"Hello, love. Miss me?" she smiled.

"Nice axe." I commented.

She smirked, twirled it about in her hands and shrugged. "Yeah, it's alright."

Nan kept exchanging looks between Buffy and myself, finally settling on me.

"Mr. Northman, do you realize that you are committing treason to your Queen by being in legion with the Slayer?"

"Wellllll….not exactly 'treason'." I said, walking over and joining Buffy at the door.

"This is the very definition of treason!" Nan exclaimed.

"It would be, yes, however, Sophie-Anne knows of our… 'alliance'." Buffy said.

I nodded. "It's true. She does know. Also, Buffy and I have a blood bond. She is mine. Therefore she is my responsibility to punish. Not my Queen's. Not yours. Mine."

"And have you punished her for her vampire killing deeds?" Nan asked, folding her arms.

I turned to Buffy. I picked up her hand and slapped it. "Bad Buffy! Bad!"

Buffy managed to keep a straight face, barely, letting only a few tiny laughs escape.

Nan glowered at me, apparently not accepting my punishment.

"I've always heard that your punishments to be much more cruel."

"Regardless of what you've heard and assumed about me, Ms. Flanagan, I've punished my human. Now, let's get back to the prior conversation. You never did mention why you were here." I said.

"I'm pretty sure I know." Buffy said.

Nan turned her attention towards Buffy. "Please, enlighten me then, vampire killer." she spat.

Buffy walked towards Nan.

"You clearly felt the change in the air. All the power that's been unleashed. All that…goodness. You know what I did. What happened in Sunnydale. How you know, well that's a mystery to me, but you know. And, between you and me, girl-to-girl, I know your little secret too."

My head shot up. "Secret? What secret is that?"

Buffy folded her arms, axe still in hand. "You see, I've been doing a little research of my own. Not lately as I obviously had bigger things going on, but it seems that our dear friend Reverend Newlin was just a little teeny tiny pawn. Am I right, Ms. Flanagan?"

She didn't answer which to me automatically confirmed that Buffy was telling the truth.

"We did some digging, I beat up some people for info and well, you'd be surprised on how many vampires are willing to turn their backs on you when they are at my mercy." Buffy added with a steep glare.

"What are you getting at?" I asked, curiously.

"Ms. Flanagan here was behind it all. Every last bit of it. She must've glamoured Newlin into kidnapping Hadley. She put it into his and Sophie-Anne's heads about Dawn and everything."

"Which would eventually send you the Fellowship of the Sun…" I started.

"Mmhmm. She was hoping, or well, I think that she was hoping anyway, that I would get there too late, not only causing Dawn's death, but Hadley's as well. Efficiently ending Newlin's life by using me and ending my life when Sophie-Anne would find out about Hadley being dead."

"…Killing two birds with one stone. The Fellowship of the Sun would have lost it's leader and the Slayer would be dead." I continued.

Buffy smiled and nodded her head.

Nan swallowed and let her hands fall to her sides. "You're smarter than they say, vampire killer."

"Actually, it's just Buffy. You should probably know that by now, considering all those anti-vampire killing ads you run about me and my girls."

I turned my head incredulously. "What?"

"Eric, you seriously need to get a television. You're missing so so much." Buffy said. "Little Miss Vampire President here has been running anti-vampire killing ads for the last year. Ever since…"

"Ever since you slaughtered a good and trusted staff member of mine." Nan growled.

Buffy raised her eyebrow. "Well maybe you should tell your staff to stop wandering through the cemetery at night, waving broken tombstones around. Which in itself is not very respectful. You destroyed someone's final resting place. You know, I don't really have a lot of experience with ghosts much, only ever really faced one…maybe two, but I'm pretty sure that's grounds for being haunted. Oh, and maybe next time you try to kill me, you should use more than one weak little vamp."

"You've died before." Nan responded.

"Yeah. Three times to be exact. Well, four if you count the parallel world. But no one really seems to."

Nan grinned the perfect evil bad guy-er, lady-grin. "Well, as you said, next time I'll try harder. I think it's time I go. Thank you for your time, Mr. Northman."

She shoved past us, through the door.

After she was gone, Buffy walked out of the door frame and sat on my desk. I shut the door and walked over to her.

"So, the true weapon of the Slayer?" I asked.

"Yep. The Scythe of the Slayer. Forged thousands—"

I broke her sentence off by grabbing her and kissing her. After a minute, she dropped the scythe to floor and latched her arms around my neck. I slid my hands down her back and picked her up. She responded by wrapping her legs tightly around my waist and kissing me back deeper. I shoved her into the wall, my hands ripping through her clothes. She pushed against me and we toppled to the floor. 

* * *

_**(The next night)**_

I awoke in my bed and noticed immediately that I wasn't alone. Quickly remembering the events from the night before, I let a grin play across my lips.

"Good evening, love." I said to Buffy.

She turned and faced me. "Actually, it's more like morning for me too."

"You slept all day?" I asked.

"Defeating the grand daddy of all evil takes a lot out of a girl."

"Clearly not too much." I grinned, staring her naked form.

She blushed slightly and sat up. "Well, now that you're awake and can walk outside without bursting into a melt-y flame-y mess, let's go get my stuff so we can move it in."

"I still have that job opening for a dancer." I grinned.

She laughed loudly. "Yeah. No. Probably not. Good try though."


End file.
